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2 Inflation-Protection ETFs Climb to Yearly Highs: Here's Why
On Jun 3, 2025, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (an international organization of 38 member countries that focuses on promoting economic growth) downgraded its growth forecasts for both the U.S. and global economy.
Per OECD, U.S. economic growth is likely to experience major slowdown this year, with GDP dramatically slowing due to the impact of new tariffs and uncertainty. GDP growth is forecast to slide to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% next year, a sharp reduction from the 2.8% growth recorded last year.
According to the group, the Trump administration's policies — imposing new import duties on nearly every foreign nation — have driven the effective tariff rate up to 15.4% from just 2% last year, the highest level since 1938.
Since tariffs are paid by U.S. importers such as Walmart, the added costs are normally passed on to consumers through higher prices — leading the OECD to project that U.S. inflation will 'spike in mid-2025' and climb to 3.9% by year's Consumer Price Index rose by 2.3% in April, without the impact of tariffs.
The OECD's inflation outlook shows a stark contrast between the United States and several other major economies around the world. For instance, while G20 countries are now expected to record 3.6% inflation in 2025 — down from 3.8% in March's estimate — the projection for the United States has risen to 3.2%, up from a previous 2.8%.
Overall, the report noted that the U.S. economy faces downside risks, including a sharper-than-expected slowdown in economic activity due to policy uncertainty, stronger inflationary pressures from rising tariffs, and the likelihood of significant corrections in financial markets.
Against this backdrop, we highlight two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that recently hit a 52-week high and offer protection against inflation.
VanEck Real Assets ETF RAAX
VanEck Real Assets ETF seeks long-term total return. The fund primarily allocates to exchange-traded products that provide exposure to real assets including resource assets: commodities, natural resource equities; income assets: REITs, Infrastructure, MLPs; and gold, which includes gold mining equities.
Resource Assets take 44.90% of the fund, followed by income assets (28.14%) and gold and gold equities (26.35%). The fund charges 75 bps in fees and yields 1.74% annually.
Astoria Real Assets ETF PPI
The Astoria Real Assets ETF is an actively managed, broadly diversified ETF that seeks long-term capital appreciation in inflation-adjusted terms. The ETF invests 69% assets in the United States, followed by the U.K. (12%), and Japan (7%). Oil and Gas (20.8%), Investment Trust (12.5%), Banks (8.9%) and Aerospace & Defense (7.8%) take the top four spots in the fund. The fund charges 78 bps in fees and yields 1.35% the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
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