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RIT Capital preserves wealth at a price

The Rothschild family holds a considerable chunk of RIT Capital Partners and its shares are in high demand due to its record of mitigating losses.
January 17, 2012

RIT Capital Partners' chairman, Jacob Rothschild, has around £223m invested in the trust. Part of the reason for the large holding is that the fund was originally set up to preserve the wealth of the Rothschild family. The Rothschild family owns well over a third of assets, which aligns their interests with shareholders', but also gives them considerable control over the trust.

1227p

RIT Capital trust has delivered good long-term returns, although has not done so well over one and three years. However, like Caledonia, the trust has proved its worth in mitigating downside and makes positive returns in most years (read more) and in 2008 lost considerably less than its benchmarks – the MSCI World Index and the FTSE All-Share – and the average global growth fund. Its aim is to deliver long-term capital growth and increases in capital value in excess of these indices over time while preserving capital.

The trust is included in Investors Chronicle's list of Top 100 Funds and is one of our 'buy' tips.

As a result, recent market volatility has meant that the trust has been in demand and trades at a premium to net asset value (NAV) of 1.64 per cent, albeit lower than its 12-month average.

RIT Capital invests in direct holdings and other funds, both quoted and unquoted. However, its total expense ratio (TER) of 1.55 per cent is much more reasonable than those of many multi-asset funds and funds of funds. Its investments include more unusual assets such as private equity, which can be more expensive to invest in.

RIT CAPITAL PARTNERS (GB0007366395)

PRICE1,227pGEARING114%
AIC SECTOR Global GrowthNAV1,157.5p
FUND TYPEInvestment trustPRICE PREMIUM TO NAV1.64%
MARKET CAP£1.88m1-YEAR PRICE PERFORMANCE-3.47%
SET-UP DATE15-Jun-883-YEAR ANNUALISED PRICE PERFORMANCE11.21%
TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO1.53%5-YEAR ANNUALISED PRICE PERFORMANCE4.96%
YIELD0.33%MORE DETAILSwww.ritcap.co.uk

Source: Morningstar.

Performance data as at 16 January 2012.

TOP 10 HOLDINGS as at 30 September 2011

HOLDINGPERCENTAGE
Agora Oil and Gas2.5
Findlay Park2.5
Titan Partners2.1
DAX Global Mining Index ETF1.9
Tontine Overseas Associates1.8
Xander funds1.8
Baker Brothers Life Sciences1.7
Cedat Rock Capital1.7
Vallares1.5
Independent Franchise Partners1.5

Geographic breakdown

HOLDINGPERCENTAGE
US31
European emerging18
Other15
Europe ex UK13
UK11
Japan6
Cash and equivalents4
Asia ex Japan2