CF Ruffer Total Return was the top performing fund in the Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares sector during 2008 when it returned nearly 21 per cent as the FTSE All Share plunged in excess of 30 per cent. The fund has also made positive returns in each of the past five years. This stacks up to strong long-term returns, making it the top fund in its sector over five years.
The fund aims to achieve low volatility and consistent positive returns with capital preservation in mind, the same approach Ruffer uses for its private and institutional clients. The fund seeks to do this in all market conditions and aims not to lose money in any 12-month period, while generating returns ahead of cash in the bank.
The fund does not follow benchmarks or relative returns.
CF Ruffer Total Return invests in various assets, including equities, bonds and currencies, and can also invest in other funds, cash, money market instruments and derivatives. Its managers conduct their own independent research.
At present nearly half the fund's assets are in equities, but this is balanced out with an allocation of nearly 40 per cent to index-linked bonds as its managers still see a threat from inflation.
Although the fund invests in various assets and sometimes other funds, it has a reasonable total expense ratio (TER) of 1.52 per cent – lower than some active single-asset funds.
The downside is that the fund gets left behind when markets and more volatile funds rally, such as in 2009.
CF RUFFER TOTAL RETURN O Acc (GB0009684100) | |||
| PRICE | 335.26p | MEAN RETURN | 8.74% |
| IMA SECTOR | Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares | SHARPE RATIO | 1.17 |
| FUND TYPE | Open-ended investment company | 1-YEAR PERFORMANCE | 2.85% |
| FUND SIZE | £2.37bn | 3-YEAR ANNUALISED PERFORMANCE | 12.23% |
| No OF HOLDINGS | 112* | 5-YEAR ANNUALISED PERFORMANCE | 10.62% |
| SET UP DATE | 29-Sep-00 | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.52%* |
| MANAGER START DATE | 01/10/2006 | YIELD | 2.82% |
| TURNOVER | 43.14%* | MINIMUM INVESTMENT | £1,000 |
| STANDARD DEVIATION | 6.89% | MORE DETAILS | www.ruffer.co.uk |
Source: Morningstar, *Ruffer.
Performance data as at 1 March 2012.
Top five equity holdings as at 31 January 2012
| T&D Holdings | 2.1 |
| BP | 2 |
| INPEX | 2 |
| Ericsson | 1.8 |
| Vodafone | 1.7 |
Five largest bond holdings as at 31 January 2012
| UK Treasury index-linked 1.25% 2017 | 8.9 |
| UK Treasury index-linked 2.5% 2016 | 6.4 |
| US TIPS 1.25% 2020 | 5.4 |
| US TIPS 0.125% 2022 | 4.90 |
| UK Treasury index-linked 1.25% 2055 | 4.50 |
Asset allocation
| Non sterling index linked | 17 |
| Japan equities | 17 |
| Index linked gilts | 16 |
| UK equities | 12 |
| North America equities | 9 |
| Europe equities | 8 |
| Gold and gold mining equities | 8 |
| Ultra long dated index linked | 6 |
| Illiquid strategies | 3 |
| Pacific equities | 2 |
| Cash | 2 |
