For income investors, managing the amount one receives in the form of distributions against the buying power of money over time is of utmost importance. In other words, measuring with a significant degree of accuracy the amount of one's income that gets eaten away by inflation is important, for obvious reasons.
For those with more conservative portfolios, such as folks nearing retirement or those with a relatively short investing time horizon that would like to maximize return with as little risk as possible, buying an inflation-protected bond fund such as the American Century Inflation Adjusted Bond Fund Investor Class (ACITX) is one way to go.
This fund invests approximately 80% of its assets into U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Bonds (TIPS), but has the ability to trade other fixed income securities with the remaining 20% of the fund's allocation, giving an investor the opportunity to potentially earn excess return over and above inflation, albeit with a slightly higher risk profile.
For bearish investors looking to secure the value of their savings and protect said savings against inflation, rather than invest such money in higher risk securities such as equities, this can certainly be an interesting option.
The fact that this fund has a slightly higher level of risk relative to other inflation protected bond funds makes this an option for those who wish to play it safe, but seek a little additional upside in the short-term.
Invest wisely, my friends.
