A New Fund to Hedge Inflation

Economists can (and do) argue over just how permanent current inflationary pressures are. But they agree that consumer costs are soaring. Kiplinger forecasts 5.4% inflation through the rest of 2021, easing to 3% in 2022 – higher than the 2% average between 2016 and 2019.

Investors have some familiar tools to beat back inflation. Treasury inflation-protected securities come to mind first, and commodity funds and stocks tend to act as nice hedges as well.

The new-ish Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF (INFL), introduced in January, offers another, more diversified way to crack that egg. The exchange-traded fund has rapidly amassed $675 million in assets.

Inflation Beneficiaries invests in a roughly 50-50 split of domestic and international firms that are exposed – directly or indirectly – to assets that should increase in value alongside inflation, but that don't incur much in extra business expenses themselves.

"These companies do not need to spend a lot of money to earn their returns," says Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and mutual fund research for Wall Street research firm CFRA.

Materials-sector stocks such as miners Franco-Nevada (FNV) and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) make up 22% of INFL's assets, and the energy sector claims another 19%. But tops in the ETF are financial stocks – including German marketplace organizer Deutsche Börse and New York–based insurer and professional services firm Marsh & McLennan (MMC) – which make up nearly one-third of the portfolio.