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asset management

Making the case for cash

November 4, 2022

Cash is trash. Cash is a melting ice cube. Going to cash is giving up... Ruffer investment director Duncan MacInnes says there's still life in the folding stuff yet!

Cash is trash. Cash is a melting ice cube. Going to cash is giving up.

Ruffer currently has the highest weighting to cash or cash-like assets in our history. We are concerned that liquidity is the new leverage and that a degradation of liquidity conditions poses an imminent danger to investor portfolios.

So why, unlike other investment managers, are we comfortable owning cash today?

Impact investing: How a fund of funds approach can help address challenges in private markets

October 26, 2022

Minimising the negative societal consequences of an investment is no longer just a ‘Nice to have’. Investors today are increasingly prioritising positive and measurable environmental, governance or social outcomes alongside financial gains, says Russell Investments’ Samantha Steele.

Private equity markets have seen a surge of interest in impact investing in recent years. In a recent survey by Pitchbook, 65% of respondents managing external money said that they had offered impact strategies to their clients, up from 57% in 2021. However, challenges around transparency, reporting and access to opportunities are common. Here’s how a fund of funds approach can help.

How do you navigate the current environment and what does history show us about trying to time the market?

October 24, 2022

Private markets investment platform Titanbay explores the dilemmas of investing in periods of uncertainty.

We all know that markets are particularly choppy and unpredictable right now. Buffeted by major geopolitical stresses, and against a backdrop of rising inflation and higher interest rates, investors may find it difficult to know which way to turn.

So, what does this mean for private equity performance? How do you navigate the current environment and what does history show us about trying to time the market?

Could rising interest rates trigger a stampede out of risky assets?

October 17, 2022

It may be time for a bit of grin and bear it before we can once again look for reasons to be cheerful, says Steve Russell, investment director at Ruffer LLP.

Warning: the following contains explicit language of a bearish nature. Readers of a more nervous disposition may want to look away now…

Even after three consecutive quarters of losses in both equities and bonds, investors may not be out of the woods. So far, it has been a painful, but orderly repricing of risky assets. Now, we fear something worse - a liquidation.

The advantages of master global custody for today’s family office

October 12, 2022

Despite the many differences among family offices, they all need flexible, cost-effective management of their financial assets. Choosing the right custody model is key to meeting this need, says BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Despite the many differences among family offices, they all need flexible, cost-effective management of their financial assets. Choosing the right custody model is key to meeting this need.

Jonathan Ruffer’s Investment Review

October 4, 2022

In a world where people find themselves without the ability to pay commitments as they arise, forced selling drives prices, says Ruffer LLP chairman Jonathan Ruffer.

What is fuelling the surge in private debt?

September 30, 2022

Private markets investment platform Titanbay investigates why private debt is one of the world’s fastest-growing alternative asset classes.

Private debt is one of the world’s fastest-growing alternative asset classes. Over the past decade, the market has grown 13.5% on average annually, with assets under management (AUM) hitting $1.2 trillion at the end of last year, according to Preqin [1]. The same report notes that this represents the second quickest pace of growth of all private market asset classes, behind only infrastructure.

European unicorn growth outpaces US and Asia

September 28, 2022

Unicorns are being created at a faster rate in Europe than anywhere else in the world. Private markets investment platform Titanbay takes a look at the structural changes driving the acceleration.

Unicorns are being created at a faster rate in Europe than anywhere else in the world. Private markets investment platform Titanbay takes a look at the structural changes driving this acceleration.

Europe has been breeding unicorns at a record pace. The number of startups valued at $1 billion or more hit at least 78 last year, up from 17 in 2020, according to PitchBook data [1]. That pace of growth was higher than in the US and Asia, where the venture capital ecosystem is more established.

Are we nearing the end of Yield Curve Control (YCC) in Japan?

September 20, 2022

Despite the Bank of Japan resolutely sticking to its policy of negative interest rates and yield curve control in 2022, might it about to change course asks Jamie Dannhauser of Ruffer LLP?

So far in 2022, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has resolutely stuck to its policy of negative interest rates and yield curve control (YCC), despite the dramatic hawkish shift from the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) and, more recently, the yen’s nosedive. Might the BoJ be about to change course?

How to avoid behavioural bias in your investment portfolio

September 6, 2022

You might not realise the impact that behavioural biases in investment decision making can have. But understanding behavioural finance can help in avoiding losses over the long term says Russell Investments.

You might not realise the impact that behavioural biases in investment decision making can have. But understanding behavioural finance can help in avoiding losses over the long term.