Natural-resource equities could provide a better hedge against inflation than commodities themselves, according to a white paper from The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC (TBCAM), the Boston-based equity investment boutique of BNY Mellon. This could be a particularly appropriate time to consider strategies that hedge against a rise in inflation as interest rates appear to have bottomed, the report said. It notes that an increase in the federal funds rate could come as early as the spring of 2015, which could spark a rise in inflation.