RIT Capital Partners has announced an annual update for the year ended 31 December 2023. The company’s NAV was up 3.2% over the 12 month period and the company expects to provide full details of the year’s performance when the annual report is released in March.
Commenting on the performance, the manager noted that the fund’s quoted equities performed strongly during the year with the book delivering healthy double-digit returns, outpacing the MSCI ACWI equal-weighted index. The company’s uncorrelated strategies book also performed well, delivering solid performance in line with expectations. Private investments detracted modestly, although direct private investments showed resilience and were roughly flat over the year while sterling strength dragged on returns.
Commenting on the year, the manager noted:
“Despite consensus at the start of 2023 indicating an impending recession and the probability of interest rate hikes, global equity markets posted strong returns throughout the year. Concerns about central banks struggling with inflation management, potentially leading to economic downturns, subsided as economic growth remained favourable, and inflation pressures eased. This set off a rally in asset prices, particularly in the final two months of the year, resulting in significant year-on-year increases in indices. The S&P 500 closed the year with a gain of +26.3%, the MSCI ACWI (50% £) saw an increase of +18.4%, and the FTSE 250 rose +8.0%. However, the rally was driven by a small number of stocks, especially in the US, where the majority of the S&P 500’s annual return came from a select group of technology stocks known as the ‘Magnificent Seven’.”
RCP : RIT Capital Partners provides a year end update