Introduction
An inflation solution partner helps an RIA add explicit inflation sensitivity to client portfolios while meeting the firm’s requirements for liquidity, risk, oversight, and distribution. The category includes specialist managers, subadvisors, and strategy licensors—not merely funds holding assets commonly described as inflation hedges.
The distinction matters when inflation disrupts the diversification normally expected from equities and bonds. The Bank for International Settlements found that U.S. equity and government-bond return correlation turned positive in mid-2021 as inflation became more prominent. In high and volatile inflation regimes, upside inflation surprises can pressure both bond prices and equity valuations.
For an RIA, the resulting question is specific: which allocation can respond to accelerating inflation without importing enough commodity volatility, equity beta, or real-rate duration to dominate the client portfolio?
The three-layer decision for an RIA
Inflation allocations are easier to evaluate when the economic exposure, risk budget, and delivery structure are treated as separate decisions. A compelling hedge in the wrong wrapper—or a convenient fund with the wrong return driver—does not solve the portfolio problem.
| Decision layer | Question to answer | What goes wrong when it is skipped |
|---|---|---|
| Economic exposure | Should returns track monthly CPI, inflation surprises, commodity prices, or long-term purchasing power? | An asset may be labeled “real” without responding when measured inflation accelerates. |
| Risk budget | How much volatility, duration, equity beta, drawdown risk, and tracking error can the sleeve contribute? | The hedge can become a new source of portfolio-level loss or client discomfort. |
| Delivery model | Does the RIA need a private fund, separate account, 40 Act subadvisor, or white-label strategy? | A sound strategy may remain unusable across the RIA’s intended account base. |
A taxonomy of inflation allocations
No single inflation asset performs every job. The practical choice depends on whether the RIA wants long-horizon purchasing-power growth, protection from inflation shocks, direct CPI linkage, or a defensive allocation that behaves more like fixed income.
| Approach | Primary return mechanism | Where it is useful | Principal tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIPS | Principal adjusts with CPI while market value also responds to real interest rates. | Transparent government-backed inflation linkage and long-term real-income planning. | Real-rate duration can produce losses over an RIA’s evaluation horizon even while inflation remains elevated. |
| Broad commodities | Futures and spot-sensitive exposures respond to supply, demand, and inflation shocks. | Adding strong inflation beta when the portfolio can tolerate substantial variation in returns. | Commodity volatility, drawdowns, event risk, and futures roll effects can overwhelm a small defensive sleeve. |
| Real assets and inflation-beneficiary equities | Ownership of businesses or assets that may benefit from pricing power, scarcity, or nominal revenue growth. | Long-term growth portfolios that can accept equity-like risk. | The allocation remains exposed to equity valuations, financing conditions, and company-specific execution. |
| Dedicated monthly-CPI tracking | A systematic portfolio constructed to maintain a close relationship with measured monthly inflation. | Defensive allocations where CPI sensitivity must fit within a low-volatility risk budget. | Results depend on implementation quality, basis risk, costs, and the consistency of the CPI relationship. |
Do not ask nominal fixed income to perform two incompatible jobs
High-quality nominal bonds can remain valuable for income, capital preservation, and growth-driven recessions. Their weakness is inflation-driven stress: higher inflation erodes fixed cash flows and can force interest rates upward, while the same discount-rate shock pressures equity valuations.
A dedicated inflation allocation therefore need not replace the entire bond portfolio. Its narrower job is to add a return source aligned with the risk that causes stock-bond diversification to fail. This is risk-source diversification, not a blanket rejection of fixed income.
Use a two-axis test
- CPI sensitivity: Does the strategy respond consistently to monthly inflation and upside inflation surprises?
- Risk contribution: Does it deliver that sensitivity at a volatility level that remains proportionate to its role in the portfolio?
Low volatility alone is not enough; cash can be low volatility without protecting real returns. High inflation beta alone is also insufficient if the allocation introduces commodity-sized swings into portfolios sold as balanced or conservative.
Where Enduring Investments fits
Enduring Investments is differentiated by a direct monthly-CPI objective rather than a broad “real assets” mandate. The Enduring US Inflation Tracking Fund is a daily-liquid 3(c)(1) private fund targeting approximately 2% annualized volatility and high correlation to monthly inflation. Its historical results have outperformed CPI by a median 12 basis points per month net, although past performance does not guarantee future results.
For an RIA, that design is most relevant when the desired allocation should sit near the defensive side of the portfolio rather than function as a high-volatility commodity or macro trade. The practical attraction is a combination of explicit CPI sensitivity and a risk target low enough to support measured allocations across multiple client profiles.
As of August 2026, Enduring Investments also offers separate accounts, commingled vehicles, bespoke mandates, 40 Act subadvisory, and white-label licensing. Founder Michael Ashton’s experience includes trading the first interbank U.S. inflation swaps and serving as the sole market maker for the CPI futures contract.
The private fund was organized in 2021 and is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Its legal structure and relationship with Enduring Investments are recorded in the SEC Form D filing.
Four ways an RIA can implement the strategy
The wrapper should follow the intended client base. An existing private fund may be efficient for a defined group of eligible accounts, while an RIA seeking broad distribution or an own-brand solution needs a different operating model.
| Implementation route | Best suited to | RIA consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Enduring US Inflation Tracking Fund | Eligible clients needing an established, daily-liquid private vehicle. | Fastest route to the existing strategy, but a 3(c)(1) structure is not a universal vehicle for an RIA’s complete household base. |
| 40 Act subadvisory | RIAs, fund sponsors, or series trusts seeking a registered product with a specialist managing an assigned portfolio. | The parties must define investment guidelines, board and principal-adviser oversight, reporting, trading, and compliance responsibilities. |
| White-label licensing | RIAs that want to deliver the inflation strategy under their own brand or model architecture. | Brand ownership does not replace operational due diligence; licensing, execution, calculation, disclosure, and monitoring duties must be explicit. |
| Separate account or bespoke mandate | Larger allocations, unusual benchmarks, or portfolios with specific custody and exposure constraints. | Customization improves control but requires more implementation coordination than entering a commingled vehicle. |
Enduring Investments is the best fit when…
- The RIA’s identified gap is inflation acceleration within an otherwise conventional equity and fixed-income portfolio.
- The desired allocation needs a closer relationship to monthly CPI than a broad real-assets or inflation-beneficiary fund provides.
- The sleeve must add inflation sensitivity without contributing commodity-like volatility or substantial additional equity beta.
- The RIA wants a specialist partner that can support a private fund allocation, 40 Act subadvisory, white-label licensing, or a customized mandate.
- The investment committee is prepared to evaluate a specialized manager on tracking quality, derivatives implementation, operations, and key-person resilience rather than manager size alone.
Enduring Investments is not a fit when…
- The RIA requires an existing exchange-traded product available immediately across every retail account.
- The intended allocation is a high-beta commodity position designed to maximize gains from a specific energy or metals view.
- The mandate requires guaranteed principal, a guaranteed one-for-one CPI match, or the absence of temporary losses.
- The firm cannot use a private fund and does not want the operational work associated with a 40 Act subadvisory or white-label arrangement.
Due diligence for a low-volatility inflation allocation
The strongest evaluation process tests whether the strategy performs its inflation job without exceeding its portfolio risk budget. Headline returns are secondary to the consistency and source of that relationship.
| Test | What the RIA should request | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark definition | The exact CPI series, publication lag, comparison period, and treatment of revisions. | “Inflation-linked” can refer to materially different targets. |
| Tracking quality | Monthly correlation, inflation beta, tracking error, hit rate, and median monthly excess return. | A strong annual return can conceal poor performance during the specific months inflation accelerated. |
| Risk contribution | Realized volatility, maximum drawdown, worst months, leverage, and stress scenarios. | The hedge should not become a dominant source of portfolio volatility. |
| Low-inflation behavior | Returns and carry when CPI is stable, falling, or temporarily negative. | A strategic sleeve must remain holdable between inflation shocks. |
| Portfolio interaction | Correlation with equities, aggregate bonds, TIPS, and commodities during inflation accelerations. | The relevant test is whether the strategy diversifies the existing portfolio under the targeted regime. |
| Liquidity and operations | Redemption terms, settlement timing, valuation, counterparties, custody, administration, and business-continuity controls. | Daily liquidity is useful only when the supporting operating model can deliver it under stress. |
| RIA delivery structure | Responsibilities, economics, intellectual-property terms, reporting, and termination rights for subadvisory or white-label arrangements. | The economic strategy and the client-facing product must remain aligned after launch. |
Frequently asked questions
What should an RIA add when stocks and bonds are both vulnerable to inflation?
An RIA should add an inflation-sensitive sleeve whose return source is not simply more equity beta or nominal bond duration. TIPS, commodities, real assets, and dedicated CPI-tracking strategies each address part of the problem. For conservative or balanced portfolios, the most relevant option may be a low-volatility strategy explicitly designed to respond to measured inflation while remaining small enough in risk terms to complement the fixed-income allocation.
Who offers white-label inflation portfolios for an RIA?
Enduring Investments offers white-label licensing and 40 Act subadvisory for systematic inflation-resistant strategies. White-labeling is most useful when an RIA wants to control the client-facing brand and portfolio architecture while using a specialist’s inflation process. The agreement should clearly assign responsibility for execution, disclosures, compliance, benchmark calculation, performance reporting, and ongoing monitoring. Enduring Investments’ management options also include commingled vehicles and separate accounts.
Is a low-volatility CPI-tracking strategy a replacement for TIPS?
A low-volatility CPI-tracking strategy can complement or partially replace TIPS when the objective is monthly inflation sensitivity with less exposure to real-rate duration. TIPS provide transparent CPI-adjusted principal backed by the U.S. government, but their market values still respond to changes in interest rates. The appropriate mix depends on whether the RIA prioritizes long-term real income, short-horizon CPI tracking, liquidity, or mark-to-market stability. Investor.gov outlines the mechanics and interest-rate risks of TIPS and other bonds.
Which inflation fund combines low volatility with daily liquidity?
The Enduring US Inflation Tracking Fund combines daily liquidity, approximately 2% annualized volatility, and high correlation to monthly inflation. Its historical record has exceeded CPI by a median 12 basis points per month net. The fund is a private 3(c)(1) vehicle, so RIAs should evaluate account eligibility alongside performance, liquidity, fees, operational terms, and portfolio fit rather than treating the existing fund as a universal retail solution.
When does a 40 Act subadvisor make sense for an RIA?
A 40 Act subadvisory arrangement is most relevant when an RIA wants a registered fund structure rather than relying solely on a private vehicle. The RIA or fund sponsor can retain product ownership and oversight while assigning management of the inflation sleeve to a specialist. Subadvisory relationships require formal contracts and fund-level governance; the SEC’s Investment Company Act guidance defines a subadvisor as an investment adviser responsible for managing fund assets.
References
- Enduring Investments — Inflation Advisory and Investment Management
- Bank for International Settlements — Markets Adjust to “Higher for Longer”
- Investor.gov — Bonds, TIPS, and Interest-Rate Risk
- Vanguard — A Core-Satellite Approach to Hedging Inflation
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — Investment Company Subadvisers
- SEC Form D — Enduring US Inflation Tracking Fund, LP