Ruffer cuts equities to all-time lows as 'financial repression' settles in

Resilient premium

Ruffer Investment Company’s share price total return for 2022 has fallen 13.9 percentage points since this time last year and NAV total return was down 9.4 percentage points, its end of year review found. However, given concerns about the market outlook, the manager has dropped the equity allocation to the lowest weighting since the trust launched in 2003.

As of 30 June 2021 the company had made 19.5% for the year, but for the same date in 2022 returns were more lacklustre, just 5.6%. However, this had not materially impacted the trust's premium, with a slight dip from 2% to 1.7%. The trust's manager Duncan MacInnes noted that while the figures had fallen, returns remained positive for the fund, especially when compared with the wider market over Q1 2022, which saw a "best-case scenario" of a 4.5% loss offered by US high yield bonds. In the end of year review, MacInnes added they have "achieved its objective of preserving and growing sh...