Day 28: Hedge Against Threats to Your Retirement Portfolio, Part III
Degree of difficulty: Moderate
Days 26 and 27 of our 30-day financial fitness regime addressed the 'threats' to your retirement portfolio posed by living longer and needing long-term care. Another threat to consider hedging against is that of inflation.
Inflation is a big drag on anyone living on a fixed income, such as retirees. Whereas working people may receive salary increases to compensate them for cost-of-living increases, most pensioners are drawing upon their portfolios for at least a portion of their income, and rising prices erode the purchasing power of their withdrawals.
Since inflation is likely to be a long-term threat thanks to growth in emerging markets, tax hikes and past fiscal stimulus packages, it can make sense to bolster any portfolio that consists predominantly of fixed-rate investments with a dose of inflation protection.
Before you layer on additional inflation protection, however, see if you already have any quasi-inflation hedges in your portfolio. For example, emerging markets tend to be heavy on basic-material producers, and they in turn are beneficiaries of higher demand and prices; check your portfolio’s exposure to Latin America and developing Asian markets. (Morningstar.co.uk’s Premium Instant X-Ray tool is a good way to investigate your portfolio’s geographic exposure.) Also look at your portfolio’s stake in energy stocks. They’re not the same as owning commodities directly, but they have a fairly high correlation with energy prices, and energy is a major component of most commodities indices.
Stocks are another indirect way to gird your portfolio against the threat of inflation. They have the potential for higher returns than bonds, which means inflation will take a smaller bite, in percentage terms, out of your future purchasing power. Owning companies with a demonstrated history of dividend growth is another way to help offset the effects of inflation on your portfolio.
Return to the article: "The 30-Day Financial Fitness Plan".
More information on hedging against threats to your retirement portfolio:
Day 26: Hedge against threats to your retirement portfolio, Part I
Day 27: Hedge against threats to your retirement portfolio, Part II
Day 28: Hedge against threats to your retirement portfolio, Part III
Day 29: Hedge against threats to your retirement portfolio, Part IV