Easy ETF Portfolios for Any Age

Don't bond funds and bond etfs differ significantly from bonds themselves? If I own a bond and interest rates go up I still get my original money back when the bond matures and I still get interest payments in the meantime. If I own a bond fund or bond etf and interest rates go up my shares will decline in value, quite possibly below the amount that I paid for them, right?

Also, aren't TIPs etfs highly volatile because they trade based on ever changing market expectations about future inflation? Do I really want a TIPs etf in my retirement portfolio rather than the TIPs themselves.

The Electrician of PA 1:41PM November 04, 2010