Ruffer ends tumultuous 2022 in positive territory as it continues de-risk mode

'Poor time to take on risk'

The Ruffer Investment Company ended a tumultuous 2022 for the markets in positive territory, with its share price up 7.3% and net asset value 8% higher, outperforming the FTSE All Share’s 1% gain.

In the six months to 31 December 2022, the NAV total return for the £1.1bn trust was 4.8%, while the share price total return was 4.2%.  As of the end of the year, Ruffer was trading at a premium of 1.02%. According to the Association of Investment Companies, this premium has now been reduced to 0.74%. "In the context of conventional assets struggling, it is perhaps not surprising that the driver of performance was our unconventional protective toolkit," wrote the managers Duncan MacInnes and Jasmine Yeo. The biggest contributors to performance throughout 2022 were interest rate he...