--- title: The Top Fear Investors Have Now Is Directly Related to Inflation description: The top fear among investors now is that their investments' rate of return won't keep up with inflation, according to a Principal survey. authors: - name: Mallika Mitra role: Contributing Editor url: https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/ bio: Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. She has covered investing and retirement for seven years and her work has appeared in CNBC, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, AARP, Barron’s, Bankrate, The Daily Upside, ETF.com, The Bond Buyer, PLANADVISER, PLANSPONSOR and Investopedia. education: Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY Kalamazoo College at_money_since: 2020 articles: 395 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - CNBC - Bloomberg - Kiplinger - Barron's - Bankrate - WGN-TV - CBS News Radio - This Morning With Gordon Deal - Everyone's Talkin' Money social: - https://twitter.com/mitra_mallika - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallika-mitra-4577a386/ published: '2022-08-19T17:25:45.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T17:37:59.000Z' section: Investing tags: - News word_count: 495 canonical: https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Worried Man Sitting In Fornt Of A Laptop With Stock Graphics On Screen](https://img.money.com/2022/08/News-Biggest-Fear-Investors-Have-Related-Inflation.jpg) Scared that your investment portfolio might not keep up with soaring prices? You're not alone. The top concern among investors now is that the rate of [return on their portfolio](https://money.com/traders-inflation-concerns-hedge/) won't keep up with inflation, according to a recent [survey](https://landing.principal.com/retirement-investments/investments-pack-emotional-punch-retirement-savers) from financial company Principal. The other big fears from investors were extended periods of investment losses and not knowing who to trust. The online survey fielded in May included responses from nearly 700 workers who have a retirement plan with services by Principal. "Investing can often be an emotional experience, filled with questions and concerns," the survey authors wrote. That's especially true now for a lot of investors who are coping with [soaring inflation](https://money.com/inflation-affecting-stock-market-2022/) as well as a [volatile market](https://money.com/stock-market-volatility-investing-tips/). ## High inflation and stock market volatility The consumer price index (CPI), a measure of price changes for a variety of goods and services, [jumped 8.5% in July](https://money.com/august-inflation-report-stocks-higher/) from a year earlier, according to data from the Labor Department. While that's a slowdown from [June when prices rose 9.1%](https://money.com/inflation-june-2022-cheaper-prices/) from the previous year — a four-decade high — the costs of everything from [groceries](https://money.com/save-money-on-groceries/) to [cars](https://money.com/inflation-delays-car-fridge-purchases/) are still uncomfortably high. Soaring inflation has taken a toll on financial markets as investors assess how much and how often the Federal Reserve will [raise interest rates](https://money.com/fed-interest-rate-hike-july-2022/). The central bank tends to hike short-term interest rates when inflation is high in order to cool economic activity. While doing so can help bring down the price of goods and services, it can also crimp prices for financial assets like [stocks](https://money.com/how-to-buy-stocks/). Amid rising rates, the [S&P 500](https://money.com/how-to-invest-in-sp500/), an index commonly used to measure how U.S. stocks are doing overall, [fell into a bear market](https://money.com/investing-moves-bear-market-stocks/) in June. Though it's [recovered some of its losses](https://money.com/stock-market-will-rally-continue/), the index is still down around 12% from the beginning of the year. So understandably, investors sometimes don't feel good about having to make investing decisions in this environment. Over 50% said they feel uncomfortable when they have to do so, and fewer than 30% feel positive about making investing decisions, according to Principal's survey. ## Investing strategies to cope with inflation If you're worried about the toll inflation will take on your portfolio, try not to panic and make impulsive changes. Generally, [financial advisors](https://money.com/how-to-choose-a-financial-advisor/) recommend [maintaining a long-term approach](https://money.com/inflation-change-investing-strategy/) to investing, even when times — and looking at your big bills — get tough. Stick with a strategy that takes into account your risk tolerance, timeline and goals, whether that be saving for [retirement](https://money.com/retirement-planning-tips-high-inflation/), a [house](https://money.com/want-to-buy-a-home-starting-tips/), a child's [college education](https://money.com/best-college-in-every-state-2022/) or another big milestone. Still nervous? One option to consider is the [Series I Savings Bond](https://money.com/how-to-buy-i-bonds/). Also known as the I bond, it's an inflation-adjusted investment that provides a place to put your savings so they're shielded from soaring consumer prices as well as the volatility of the stock market. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Investors", "item": "https://money.com/investors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Top Fear Investors Have Now Is Directly Related to Inflation" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/", "name": "The Top Fear Investors Have Now Is Directly Related to Inflation", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-08-19T17:25:45.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/investors-biggest-fear-inflation/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T17:37:59.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "The Top Fear Investors Have Now Is Directly Related to Inflation", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/08/News-Biggest-Fear-Investors-Have-Related-Inflation.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Biggest-Fear-Investors-Have-Related-Inflation" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mallika Mitra", "url": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mallika-mitra/#author", "description": "Mallika Mitra is a contributing editor for Money, based in Chicago. 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