The mention of stagflation has been prominent these days as consumer prices continue to go through the roof with worries that it could slow down growth. As such, the market could be ripe for getting real asset exposure.
The U.S. Federal Reserve upped the federal funds rate by 25 basis points as wholesales prices grew by 0.8% during the month of February. Inflation hasn’t been this hot in over 40 years, and one way to hedge is getting real asset exposure.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned this in a tweet, highlighting the need for investors to get real, literally, with their portfolios with real asset exposure.
As a general principle, for those looking for advice from this thread, it is generally better to own physical things like a home or stock in companies you think make good products, than dollars when inflation is high.
I still own & won’t sell my Bitcoin, Ethereum or Doge fwiw.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
Real Assets in 1 Fund
Investors looking to complement their portfolios with real asset exposure don’t have to start scooping up various tangible assets. This can all be available with the FlexShares Real Assets Allocation Index Fund (ASET).
ASET seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust Real Assets Allocation IndexSM. The underlying index measures the performance of an optimized allocation to the underlying funds that is intended to provide exposures to certain real assets and minimize the overall volatility of an investment in the underlying funds.
As of March 18, the top three sector allocations are real estate, industrials, and utilities. Moreover, ASET takes a global approach by investing in countries outside of the United States as well, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
To help mute volatility, there’s a skew towards large-cap holdings, which comprise 76% of the fund (also as of March 18). In terms of style factors, investors are looking at mainly a focus on value, core, and growth.
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