5 Stocks To Hold When Inflation Spikes

Inflation is the increase in the price of goods and services. It is better translated as the illusion of growth. Over time, inflation wears down the value of a nation’s currency. Many factors may influence inflation, and many discuss its leading causes.

The stock market and inflation are positively correlated but not perfectly. In case of inflation, the price of food increases the same as for the stock prices. Let’s say that you got a 200% pay raise, but at the same time all the goods around you cost 200% more, then you are not any more decadent than what you were before. On a nominal basis, you are rich, but on a fundamental basis, it is not. In all cases, inflation negatively impacts the stock market. This article will expose the 5 stocks that will guide you during crisis times (inflation).

The five stocks that will guide you during inflation are:

1. Gold

Gold has often been considered a shield against inflation. In some countries where the currency is losing value, people tend to utilize gold or other strong coins when their own money has failed. Gold has proven to hold its significance for the most part. Nevertheless, holding onto an asset like gold that does not pay back as valuable as holding onto an investment does; thus, when rates are higher, the payoff is more elevated.

If you consider investing in gold, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) is a significant consideration.

2. Commodities

Commodities include grain, precious metals, electricity, oil, natural gas, foreign currencies, emissions, and specific other financial instruments. Commodities and inflation have a special connection toward each other, where commodities are an indicator of inflation to come. This is because as the price of a commodity rises, so does the cost of the commodity used to produce.

It’s possible to invest in commodities the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) is a commodity ETF worth considering.

Before investing in commodities, investors should keep in mind that they are highly unstable. Entities are dependent on demand and supply factors. Any slight change in supply due to political tensions or critical changes can negatively affect the prices of commodities, so investors must be cautious. However, opening a portfolio with wealthface gives you some great features without any effort from your end. Wealthface’s team will guide you through its tools to understand the approach to the market pre and post-inflations.

3. 60/40 Stock/Bond Portfolio

A 60/40 stock/bond portfolio is considered a safe, conventional mix of stocks and bonds in an old-school portfolio.

It is advised to pay an investment advisor such as Wealthface to organize such a portfolio, and investing in Dimensional DFA Global Allocation 60/40 Portfolio (I) (DGSIX) is much recommended.

Although a 60/40 stock/bond portfolio – achieved through diversification – is considered a straightforward investment strategy, it will underachieve over the long term because of compounding interest. It’s a safe option that will protect you against inflation, but you’ll be missing out on returns if you were to take chances on a portfolio with a higher percentage of stocks.

4. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

Property prices are likely to rise when inflation rises. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) own and operate a group of real estate that pays out shares to its investors.

If you are looking for a broad exposure to real estate that goes along with a low expense ratio, consider the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ).

REITs are also sensitive to demand on other high-yield assets. When interest rates rise, funds are drawn away from REITs lowering their share prices. REITs must also pay property taxes, which will affect the budget and reduce cash flows to shareholders.

5. S&P 500

In general, businesses that gain from inflation necessitate little capital, whereas firms engaged in natural resources can’t stand inflation. Presently, the S&P 500 has a high awareness of technology businesses and communication services. (They account for a 35% stake in the Index.) Since both technology businesses and communication services are Capital-light businesses, they should sustain during inflation.

If you wish to invest in the S&P 500, an index of the 500 largest U.S. public companies, look into the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

However, the main downside here is that the Index values companies with higher market capitalization, so the stock prices for the most prominent companies highly impact the Index than a company with lower capital. Also, the S&P 500 index does not cover any small capital companies, which generally have produced higher returns.

Three ways of Stocks Performance during Inflation

Value stocks

Value stocks have performed better than growth and income stocks in the short term during periods of high inflation.

Value stocks are favored by investors when inflation is high. Value stocks are shares that have a higher fundamental value than their current trading price. They are frequently shares of well-established companies with current solid free cash flows that may decline over time.

Shares with more significant current cash flows are more valuable than growth stocks that promise future returns during high inflation periods. This could be due to the effect of compounding the discount rate in the example underneath.

When valuing equity in terms of discounting future cash flows, sizable current cash flows will be less diminished than cash flows of comparable amounts further down the road. For example, £100 in one year discounted at 5% is worth £95.24 today, but the same flow in five years is only worth £78.35.

Growth stocks

Growth stock prices decline during high inflation. Although growth stocks are shares that do not show strong free cash flows or dividend pay-outs, these possess the capacity to outperform the market in the future.

Long-term investments promise significant returns after they have had a chance to mature and constantly produce better results.

When discounting growth stocks to a present value, the expected cash flows are still some time ahead, which means that the compounded discount rate will adversely impact the current share price.

Income stocks

Income stocks pay regular and stable dividends, which may not keep up with inflation in the short run. So until the tips rise to meet inflation, their prices will keep on declining.

On the other hand, international companies could go through falling share prices when inflation increases. If the company decided to follow over-pricing criteria, it might risk becoming uncompetitive if foreign competitors in the same market could maintain fixed costs.

What does lower inflation mean for stocks?

Since lower inflation is linked to lower interest rates, increased spending, and high revenues, the demand for shares grows, which causes share prices to be highly valued. Lower inflation is also good news for stocks with lower dividend pay-outs. When the rate of inflation goes down, the genuine interest earned from each payment goes higher.