Why did the Fund reduce its March 2009 dividend?
As noted in its March 2009 dividend press release, the Fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.040 which represents a reduction of approximately 20% from its previous level. As stated in the Fund’s most recent quarterly review, for the period ended December 31, 2008, the increase in inflation in 2008 was driven by the run up in commodities which have since shed most of their gains in the latter-half of 2008. By the middle of 2009, CPI-U is expected to be negative on a year-over-year basis for several months and, we believe, long-term prospects for inflation remain contained. We believe that some of this reduced inflation outlook has already been evidenced in the market. For example, CPI-U decreased 1.7% in December 2008, on a seasonally adjusted basis –the largest one-month decrease on record. Should inflation continue to decrease, U.S. TIPS may suffer in the short-run from lower inflation accretion which, in turn, may result in a decrease in income received by the Fund. Conversely, sho
