Caution the watchword at RIT Capital

16th Jun 2010 07:45

Investment trust RIT Capital Partners saw its net asset value (NAV) per share increase by more than a third last year to an all time high, though that performance lagged that of the FTSE All-Share Index.Total net assets at the end of March 2010 stood at £1,815.7m, up 34.4% from £1,350.5m a year earlier, while NAV per share grew 35.0% to 1,180.1p from 874.3p at the end of March 2009.Over the same period the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) World Index (£) gained 40.3%, the FTSE All-Share index jumped 46.7% and the Investment Trust Net Assets Index gained 38.2%.Over five year and ten year periods, however, the performance of RIT Capital trounces all those indices.Furthermore, as markets have come off the top since the middle of April, the trust's NAV has suffered less than its benchmark indices; RIT's NAV per share at 4 June stood at 1,140p, down 3.4% since the middle of April compared to a 7.5% fall on the MSCI World Index and a 9.1% swoon by the FTSE All-Share."Before the setback in May, we had reduced market exposure, with greater focus on cash-rich companies with strong global franchises. For defensive reasons we had maintained a significant position in gold and gold shares, which at 4 June represented some 9% of our net assets," said the trust's chairman, Lord Rothschild.Rothschild added that with markets currently so volatile the trust's emphasis would remain on preserving capital even if that means it misses some periods of market strength.The company declared a dividend on 4 March of 4p and, as expected, has not declared a supplementary dividend with the announcement of its preliminary results.