Asset Allocator's Soapbox: The silent embezzler

Almost every investor has a long-term need to grow their investment portfolio at a rate above inflation. Any return less than inflation is actually destroying the purchasing power of that portfolio. We believe this silent embezzler of wealth is the biggest risk to most investors over the long term and although there is a very specific need for most to generate inflation beating returns, not many investments are designed with that objective. The United Kingdom uses two measures to monitor inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Retail Price Index (RPI). Over the past 12 months t...