What are the best investments for an inflationary environment?

Oldman answered 8 months ago …

Having invested and learned about inflation after the 1970's, when banks paid upwards of 12% on deposits and you could buy a TIGR (ATreasury 30 yr zero coupon investment for 14 -18%) by 1981; having watched price and wage controls fail...The only things that beat inflation are IMHO natural resource stocks that pay substantial dividends as their earnings grow with demand. Now owning bullion or gold coins (particularly "collectibles" such as MS65+ graded U.S. or even foreign coins) is a great way to completely hedge vs gov't seizures or vs.loss of principal buying power...but the Gold purchase may not ever really increase, compared to the compounded returns of reinvested resource dividends. In particular: Fertilizers, Agricultural Co.s, water holders; silver, molybdenum and platinum miners (gold miners often pay little or no dividends)- not base metal miners- Timber companies that don't depend on printin paper for income...and pipeline MLP's are one way to compensate for the rise in prices of food, gasoline, water services, and toilet paper and paper towels.

I wouldn't buy a company whose stock was much above its real peers, or above the sector's mean PE, but only if it had a commitment to paying a product-based dividend.