Ruffer: Now feels like a time to keep powder dry

Ruffer's Steve Russell and Hamish Baillie are holding 14% of their investment trust portfolio in cash as they remain cautious over the short-term outlook.

The pair have held cash at an elevated level of 14% since August, and said they saw no reason to reinvest in September, a month characterised by increasing nervousness over the US fiscal situation. "The cash balance remains high at 14% reflecting our nervousness of both equity markets and the short term outlook," said Russell (pictured) and Baillie. Investment Week reported earlier this month that multi-asset managers are stockpiling cash due to worries over the US budget shutdown and 17 October deadline for raising the debt ceiling - and the Ruffer duo are no different. "This may ...