James Klempster: Inflation-proofing portfolios

This decade of low inflation has been a boon for central bankers who have been able to follow expansionary monetary policy, almost to an egregious point. For us as consumers it has also been a welcome treat. Year over year price moves have been pretty sedentary overall, which is certainly preferable to much greater levels of inflation, something that can make planning expenditure far trickier. Conversely, deflation poses huge risks to consumption as it saps the impulse to spend today because tomorrow's prices may well be a modicum cheaper in nominal terms. For us as investors, low nom...