Equities market best investment asset class to hedge against inflation

By Kayode Tokede

The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has been ranked as the best investment asset class to hedge against inflation from August 2020 to August 2021.

The Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) disclosed in the inflation as against investment return data released for August, on Sunday, in Lagos.

Among the four asset classes tracked by the FDC, the Nigerian equity emerged the best hedge against inflation on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis.

The data also showed that NGX topped the list as it recorded Y-o-Y return of 54.85 per cent against inflation rate of 17.38 per cent.

According to it, the Nigerian equity investors’ return beats inflation by 37.47 per cent.

The data indicated that U.S. equities performance stood at 29.2 per cent; real estate 15.08 per cent and Treasury Bills rates offered 6.8 per cent.

“Recall that the Nigerian equity market was named the best-performing stock market in 2020, with over 50 per cent gain, according to a report by Bloomberg.

“With earnings season now upon us, investors have begun to enjoy returns beyond capital gains, by way of dividend payments which some companies have already announced.

“Capital market players also continue to look forward to the Exchange’s activities with regards to galvanising participation through its innovative products and services, strong investments in technology and information dissemination,” the data said.