St James’s Place (SJP) has added tariff inflation protection to its lower risk Polaris portfolios by increasing its exposure to Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS).

The firm has increased its exposure through the SPDR Bloomberg U.S. TIPS UCITS ETF in its Polaris 1 and Polaris 2 funds.

The Polaris fund-of-funds range is one of the UK’s largest multi-asset solutions, having grown to nearly £75bn in assets under management since launching in 2022.

SJP noted that TIPS are US government bonds that look to help protect investors from rising prices, with the value of the bond increasing with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation.

Commenting on the addition of tariff inflation protection, SJP multi-asset portfolio manager, Hamish Gibberd, said the firm was taking steps to ensure portfolios were resilient amid rising geopolitical risk and inflation uncertainty.

“Most recently, we added US Treasury TIPS to our lower-risk portfolios,” Gibberd continued.

“Our rationale was simple, short-term inflationary risks from tariffs combined with long-term deflationary concerns, make it very difficult to forecast inflation accurately. So adding inflation protection where we can made sense.

“The first half of 2025 was marked by considerable turbulence, driven in part by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and ongoing uncertainty surrounding US tariffs.

“The latter continues to evolve with new announcements, retaliatory measures, temporary exemptions, and legal disputes - all of which have contributed meaningfully to short-term market volatility.

“In this environment of heightened uncertainty, our strategy remains to stay flexible, continually monitor significant shifts in market conditions, and adjust our positioning as needed—all while keeping the long-term impact on portfolio performance at the forefront of our decision-making process.

“We also continue to explore additional resilience strategies, including the addition of short-dated credit and Japanese yen exposures following the recent addition of TIPS to Polaris.

“In moments like these, when time horizons shrink and behavioural temptation rises, it is precisely the time to lean into the discipline and investment principles that underpins our long-term approach.”

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