Ruffer

Gold is likely to suffer from further sell-offs in the short to medium term as investors remain focused on an end to quantitative easing, Steve Russell, investment director at Ruffer, has said.

The prospect of a sell-off in both equities and bonds, akin to that seen in 1994, is a "very real concern", according to Ruffer investment directors Hamish Baillie and Steve Russell.

The Ruffer Investment Company saw NAV hit a record high in April as soaring Japanese equities helped offset exposure to struggling gold miners.

The managers of the Ruffer investment trust are concerned further monetary easing may lead to another financial crisis on a par with 2007/8 as talk of yet more stimulus fuels 'risk-takers'.

Global stock markets have notched up impressive gains over the past three months, with the FTSE 100 yesterday breaking the 6,400 barrier to reach a five-year high.

The managers of the Ruffer investment trust fear the portfolio's strong performance in January may be a sign assets are correlated and will all plummet at the same time in a down market.

2012 was a particularly tough year for some sectors, notably commodities and gold, as fears over global growth weighed on demand for materials.

Ruffer's flagship investment trust has made "painfully slow" progress in 2012, held back by protective investments in the US dollar, put options, and gold mining shares.