Protecting Portfolios Against Inflation

Inflation is a perennial threat to the real value of portfolios, even though current inflation rates are low. To protect portfolios against inflation, cash, inflation-indexed bonds, equities, real estate, and commodities are the usual candidates. We examine each, plus other assets and, importantly, various kinds of liabilities, to examine their historical and prospective responses to expected and unexpected inflation. Our article is integrative, bringing together ideas and data from many different sources in one place.