HEDGING ABILITIES OF STOCKS, GOLD, AND REAL ESTATE FUNDS AGAINST INFLATION DURING COVID-19: EVIDENCE FROM TÜRKİYE

Authors : Levent SÜMER

Pages : 479-496

Doi:10.31671/doujournal.1289675

View : 19 | Download : 65

Publication Date : 2023-07-10

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The global economy is struggling with many challenges which started with the recession caused by the COVID-19 disease and continued with the high inflation problem. Investors seek safe havens ain crisis periods and among many investment tools, real estate has always been a preferred tool to protect the purchasing powers of investors under high inflationary periods. By using Gultekin approach derived from the Fama-Schwert regression model, this study investigates the hedging ability of the Real Estate Investment Trusts insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(REITs); and the Real Estate Investment Funds insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(REIFs); in Türkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic period insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(January 2020-December 2021);. Additionally, the Turkish REIT insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(T-REIT); Index, Istanbul Stock Exchange insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(BIST); 100 Index and gold insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(ounce/USD); and insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(gram/TL); were also analyzed in the study as benchmark tools. T-test, Jarque-Bera insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1980);, and Breusch-Pagan insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1979); tests were used to validate the regression models. The results of the research revealed that only 4 of 33 T-REITs and 1 of 15 T-REIFs provided a hedge against inflation, while gold, BIST 100, and the T-REIT index did not have the statistical hedging ability during the COVID-19 period. The results of the research exhibited that, there are very few hedging tools under high inflation, and as a result, the purchasing powers of people are decreasing. Hence, the Central Bank of Türkiye Republic should seriously focus on fighting against inflation. Based on the reviewed past literature, this study seems to be the first research that seeks the hedging ability of the T-REITs and T-REIFs during the COVID-19 period.
Keywords : Enflasyon, Hisse Senetleri, Altın, Gayrimenkul Fonları, Riskten Korunma