Ruffer Total Return Intl I GBP Dis |
Morningstar's Take
|13/03/2024by Tom Mills
| Ruffer has announced the departure of Jacques Hirsch, who together with Alex Lennard has been comanager of Ruffer Total Return International since its inception in 2011. Ruffer expects to appoint an existing member of its investment team to replace Hirsch as comanager in due course. Until then, Lennard, a senior member of Ruffer’s investment team who joined the firm in 2006, will act as sole manager on an interim basis. Over time, Ruffer’s investment team has been stable in the senior ranks, with key decision-makers having long tenure. The central investment strategy here is centrally directed, with co-CIOs Henry Maxey and Neil McLeish and founder Jonathan Ruffer key decision-makers, with the input of senior fund managers and research team members. Named portfolio managers on the different Ruffer funds construct portfolios using this central framework, with the support of the large analyst team that helps select securities to express the top-down views. This collegiate approach, and the continuity that Lennard provides, helps to mitigate the loss of Hirsch. The Morningstar Analyst Rating for the strategy is therefore unchanged; however, we will reassess the management configuration when a new comanager is appointed. Separately, in steps intended to further its succession planning, Ruffer recently announced that Jonathan Ruffer would remain in his role as chairman and retain his stake but hand control of the firm to its other working partners, effective 1 April, while at the same time elevating McLeish to co-CIO from head of investment strategy. We will monitor how this dynamic works going forward. |
| This multi-asset offering has a clear and consistent focus on capital preservation, managed by a well-resourced, experienced, and collegial investment team. It is available in a range of vehicles for different client types and jurisdictions, which have their own portfolio managers but closely adhere to Ruffer’s central strategy. As such, the People and Process Pillar ratings have been both retained at Above Average. Since its launch in the 1990s, capital preservation has been a cornerstone of Ruffer’s investment strategy, whilst seeking attractive capital growth in real terms over the long run. This ethos has served its investors well over time. Ruffer applies a collegially driven and initially top-down approach to meet this objective. It begins with a thorough analysis of the global macro environment and the available investment opportunities and associated risks. The main portfolio building blocks are conventional asset classes such as global equities, conventional and index-linked government bonds, cash, and some commodities. These assets are blended within the portfolio to ensure there is always a balance between what are considered growth and protection (or "greed" and "fear") assets. Hedging is used via derivative protection plays, which form an important role in building an all-weather portfolio to meet the objectives and are used in various forms including options and credit default swaps. These extra levers have been used to good effect during points of market stress, although they can also come at a cost to performance in more benign markets, as occurred in 2023, a disappointing year for Ruffer in contrast to 2022. Jonathan Ruffer, who founded the firm and has more than four decades of investment experience, has been a key decision-maker on the strategy since inception, for most of this time alongside CIO Henry Maxey. In March 2023, Neil McLeish was promoted to co-CIO alongside Maxey, and the three are heavily involved in formulating the firm’s top-down investment strategy. They work closely with the senior investment managers. Portfolio construction is carried out by the named fund managers, using this central framework and with the bottom-up input of a well-resourced research team to express views through individual securities. |
Offers appeal for investors seeking capital preservation with growth potential.To find out how Morningstar rates a fund click here.
| Morningstar Pillars | |
| People | Above Average |
| Parent | Above Average |
| Process | Above Average |
Morningstar Medalist RatingMorningstar assigns the Medalist Rating to funds that are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed through manager research and algorithmic processes. The assessment turns on three key “pillars” – People, Process, and Parent – that yield an estimate of how well a fund will perform before fees but after adjusting for risk.
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