Ruffer Investment Company Limited (LON:RICA) has announced its Monthly Investment Report for August 2026:
The fund delivered positive performance in August, thanks to a strong balance between growth and protection assets. August can often be a volatile period for markets, due to lower liquidity and reduced trading volumes, but it proved relatively subdued this year.
One of the more dynamic areas of the market was gold, which regained momentum after its six-month decline from the January peak. The precious metal appreciated by nearly 10%, while gold-mining equities exhibited their usual high-beta response. As a result, our gold mining exposure was a key contributor to returns, with the reduced position size still capable of contributing almost 1% to performance in August. Elsewhere in commodities, the continued escalation between Russia and Ukraine supported further rises in agricultural commodity prices, providing another source of return for the portfolio.
Equity markets were resilient in the face of geopolitical risks. The earnings season was broadly supportive, and market leadership broadened during the month, demonstrating that equities can continue to reach new highs even as the most popular segments – particularly semiconductors and memory stocks – pause for breath. Notable contributors to performance included the allocation to the Japanese corporate reform theme and the software exposure, which continued to recover even as technology hardware names stabilised after July’s sharp losses.
Bond yields completed a round trip over the month and were not a significant contributor to returns. Nevertheless, fixed income remained a major focus for investors as markets weighed the direction of US policy. The US Treasury unexpectedly announced an increase in bond buybacks, a potentially dovish development that likely signals the administration’s discomfort with the level of government yields. At the same time, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh adopted a hawkish tone in his first Jackson Hole speech, after the more ambiguous messaging from the Fed’s July meeting. As markets digest these and other developments, the emerging consensus points towards a higher-for-longer interest rate environment, placing upward pressure on developed market bond yields.
Our exposure to government bonds remains low relative to historical levels, although we have begun to add selectively on an opportunistic basis. If one believes a key risk facing asset markets is that the AI capital expenditure boom eventually turns to bust, bonds may once again offer an attractive source of diversification in that scenario. The challenge lies in determining how long and painful the journey to that point may be for bondholders, and we do not feel compelled to jump in with both feet.
Finally, the principal detractors from performance were our protective derivative positions and foreign currency exposures outside sterling. The yen resumed its weakening trend despite bilateral intervention in late July. We note that the US Treasury has a strong track record in trading the yen. The market is taking on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and time will tell if that proves courageous or foolish. We maintain a meaningful position in the Japanese currency alongside potent derivative protection to bolster the portfolio in a market shock. We view these instruments as an important source of true diversification, particularly should inflationary pressures re-emerge and a renewed sell-off in bonds lead to contagion across financial markets.
Ruffer Investment Company Limited (LON:RICA) is a British investment company dedicated to investments in internationally listed or quoted equities or equity related securities
