Over three quarters of advisers believe inflation could exceed four per cent in the next five years, according to Schroders.
The firm surveyed advisers from over 30 countries for its latest investment conference on asset classes, bank activity and inflation.
Just 13 per cent felt their portfolios were suitably protected against the risk of inflation, which stands at 2.7 per cent.
The results will be bad news for the Bank of England which is working towards a target of inflation at two per cent.
Some 75 per cent of advisers believed central bank activity would lead to banks lending again, boosting growth globally.
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The majority of advisers felt that European equities would be the best-performing asset class in 2013 and 68 per cent said they were overweight in global equities. This follows on from last year's results where 41 per cent said they intended to increase their asset allocation to European equities by the end of the year.
Peter Beckett, head of international marketing, said: "This survey has highlighted a change in investor attitudes towards global and European equities, as predicted by the results from our survey at the end of last year.
"The increasing sense of stability within the Eurozone, along with a firm belief that central bank activity will take hold and encourage banks to start lending again, had led to increased confidence in the equity markets at the start of 2013."

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