RUFFER INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED
a closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 41966
(the “Company”)
We are pleased to present the Monthly Investment Report for March 2025.
Our investment team remains vigilant in monitoring market trends and adjusting the portfolio as needed to protect investor interests. The report provides an overview of the company’s performance during the first quarter of 2025, highlighting the key factors that influenced our investment decisions.
March 2025: A Turbulent Quarter
If 2025 began on a calm note, with asset markets shifting leadership in an orderly fashion from the US to the rest of the world, the first quarter ended on a turbulent one, as global equities declined and defensive assets gained. In March, rising policy uncertainty began to unnerve investors, who had previously assumed President Trump’s bark would be worse than his bite.
- Rising policy uncertainty
- Global equities declined
- Defensive assets gained
The fund’s protective assets helped to cushion losses incurred from its equity exposure. The largest contributions came from precious metals, primarily through gold mining companies and silver bullion, which appreciated as demand for safe haven assets grew.
| Assets | Value |
| Precious metals | £12.3m |
| Credit derivatives | £5.1m |
We have long viewed the compressed level of spreads as a clear sign of investor complacency, meaning even minor disruptions could push them wider. Our portfolio has been diversified to include protective positions in the credit market, which benefited as credit spreads widened.
The Board’s Buybacks
The board have continued their buybacks, purchasing 22.8 million shares for a total of around £62.7m, which equates to 7% of the shares outstanding at the start of the period.
- 22.8 million shares purchased
- Total value: around £62.7m
- 7% of shares outstanding
This strategic decision reflects our confidence in the company’s long-term prospects and our commitment to protecting investor interests.
Looking Beyond the Near-Term Risks
We still believe the market will struggle to rotate away from more than a decade of US exceptionalism and dollar dominance without touching a tripwire. The uncertainty and volatility injected by Trump strengthens this conviction.
“Although the market could swing back to the US-centric narrative of 2023 and 2024, we doubt such a swing would last. Our view has been that covid marked a regime shift from monetary policy dominance to fiscal policy dominance, and that view has only been strengthened by recent events in the US and Europe.”
Our conviction that we are witnessing a regime change in markets has only been strengthened by recent events in the US and Europe. The flow of global government spending – which has supercharged US markets in recent years – is being diverted. Investors have a significant overweight in US assets and the dollar predicated on long-term US exceptionalism. It will take time for institutions to alter their strategic asset allocations, but we believe the investment supertanker has started to turn.
