Ruffer Investment Company (RICA) reported another month of positive NAV performance in August, driven primarily by gold mining equities. The manager said strong free cash flow generation at higher gold prices continues to provide attractive opportunities, even after the sector’s strong rally this year. Gold bullion resumed its upward trajectory during the month, hitting a new record high on the final trading day of August. Ruffer highlighted mounting political and fiscal pressures – including US tensions over Federal Reserve independence and renewed budget concerns in France – as supportive drivers for gold. Elsewhere, long-dated inflation-linked bonds detracted as global sovereign bond yields rose. Equity markets held up despite mixed macro data, though AI-related names lost momentum following weaker guidance from Nvidia. The trust’s China-exposed and commodity-linked equities performed well, while derivative protection was a drag. During the month, the managers trimmed positions in top-performing equities and reduced RICA’s allocation to gold miners to around 6%, while increasing derivative protection. The managers said they see signs of market complacency following the rebound from April’s tariff shock and believe it prudent to increase portfolio defensiveness.

Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) has released its fourth ESG and Sustainability Report, highlighting a year of strong progress as its energised capacity more than doubled to 753.4MW/924.1MWh. The internationally diversified battery fund, which qualifies as an Article 8 product under the EU’s SFDR, said its operational fleet avoided 11,970 tCO2e during the year and stored 39,290MWh of renewable electricity – enough to power around 14,500 homes for a year. The report also covers work with industry peers to develop a standard methodology for avoided emissions, as well as continued reporting against TCFD and UN PRI frameworks. Gore Street said it has also implemented new health and safety measures and continued to support communities across its supply chain. Alex O’Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street’s manager, said the company had embedded sustainability across the asset lifecycle and would remain focused on delivering “sustainable returns for investors while enabling a cleaner, more resilient power system.”

Tiger Royalties and Investments (TIR) has confirmed it will change its name to Tiger Alpha Plc following shareholder approval at its AGM in July. The new name will take effect on the AIM market from 8am on 9 September 2025. The company’s ticker will change from TIR to TIG, although its ISIN, SEDOL and website remain unchanged. Tiger Alpha describes itself as an investment vehicle focused on incubating technology projects. The move follows its acquisition of Bixby Technology Inc. earlier this year, which will target fast-growth technology products and projects including equity, securities, meme coins and other forms of digital assets. The £5m market cap company will also continue its existing policy of investing in the global natural resources sector.

Partners Group Private Equity (PEY) reported a 0.8% increase in NAV in July, taking it to €13.90 per share (€960.9m). The gain reflected positive currency movements (+1.0%) and flat portfolio revaluations. The company also received €11.2m in distributions during the month, including €8.9m from Techem. PEY has also provided an update on Techem, a global provider of digitally enabled real estate solutions, where it says a new transaction structure has been agreed. Partners Group will exit its existing stake but has reinvested alongside a consortium to support Techem’s next growth phase. Techem, the fund’s seventh-largest holding, delivered revenues above €1bn and c.50% EBITDA growth during Partners Group’s ownership. Partners Group expects further distributions linked to the deal in the second half of 2025 and beyond. PEY also announced an exit and reinvestment in PCI Pharma Services, its largest portfolio holding. Since Partners Group’s initial 2016 investment, PCI has grown from a regional packaging provider into a global CDMO. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to the usual approvals. PEY has also made available a recording of its latest investor update webcast on its website.

Grainger (GRI), the specialist listed build-to-rent landlord, has converted to a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company, which has a portfolio of 11,000 rental homes valued at £3.5bn, says the REIT status provides an opportunity for private investors seeking exposure to the buy-to-let market a more attractive route through a tax-efficient vehicle without the management responsibility. It adds that the move would also unlock meaningful shareholder value through improved returns (with the tax structure eliminating effective double taxation) and allow it to grow its dividend.

Blackstone’s offer from Warehouse REIT (WHR) has been declared unconditional, with the private equity firm now owning more than 50% of the company (having received acceptances from 16.4% of shareholders and having already built up a 35.2% shareholding).  The company has urged remaining shareholders to accept the offer, which remains open.

Starwood European Real Estate Finance (SWEF) has provided a portfolio update, confirming a further write-down on its loan secured against a Central Dublin office portfolio. Following non-binding discussions over a potential sale to a vehicle advised by Starwood Capital, the board has reduced the recoverable value of the investment from €6.75m to €4.8m, adding a €2.2m (£1.9m) impairment (around 1.3p per share). An independent report has been commissioned to support any transaction. SWEF has also announced the full repayment of two other loan assets during August – Hotel, North Berwick and Life Science, UK – totalling £29.1m. This leaves the company with four remaining loans, three classified as Stage 1 and one (the Irish office portfolio) as Stage 3. As of 31 July 2025, SWEF’s NAV stood at £145.0m, or 97.92p per share, before accounting for the second quarter dividend and the latest impairment. Since adopting its orderly realisation strategy in January 2023, the company has returned £256m to shareholders, equivalent to 61.9% of NAV at that date. Seperately, SWEF has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 – you can read more about these here. QD comment from Matthew Read: SWEF’s update is a reminder that orderly wind-downs can be mixed. On the one hand, the full repayment of two sizeable loans in August demonstrates the strength of parts of the portfolio and the manager’s ability to recover capital. On the other, the Irish office loan continues to be a drag, with a further write-down required as the board explores a potential sale at a level “significantly below” the already impaired carrying value. The good news is that SWEF has now returned more than 60% of its January 2023 NAV to shareholders, and hopefully the rest will come back as planned. However, should also be prepared for ongoing bumps in the road as the remaining assets are realised.

JPMorgan Global Core Real Assets (JARA) has announced that director John Scott has purchased 15,000 ordinary shares in the company at a price of 70.19p per share. Following the transaction, which took place on 4 September 2025, his total holding has risen to 124,799 shares.

Majedie (MAJE) has confirmed that its manager, Marylebone Partners, has entered into a formal agreement to become part of Brown Advisory, subject to regulatory approval. Majedie will receive a cash payment for its 7.5% stake in Marylebone, though this will not be material to NAV. On completion, management fees will be reduced to 0.8% on market cap up to £150m, 0.675% between £150m–£250m, and 0.6% thereafter, down from 0.9%, 0.75% and 0.65% respectively. The board stressed there will be no change to mandate, philosophy or the team’s decision-making autonomy. MAJE’s chair, Christopher Getley, highlighted additional benefits from the deal, including access to Brown Advisory’s global research team, broader external manager selection capabilities, and the institutional scale to support Majedie’s growth ambitions.

Onward Opportunities (ONWD) has reported interim results for the six months to 30 June 2025, with NAV per share rising to 128.41p, representing a 10.4% total return over 12 months and a 34.2% return since its inception in March 2023. The trust has significantly outperformed the UK AIM All-Share Index since launch – by 34.1% according to ONWD – ranking in the top quartile of its peer group. ONWD has also achieved its target returns of greater than a 15% IRR during the period. ONWD has raised more than £4.1m year to date, making it one of the few smaller companies funds to continue attracting new capital. Cash balances, built up tactically earlier in the year, were redeployed profitably in April. Portfolio highlights included the exit of Windward, delivering £2.4m profits and a 2.5x return on capital, while holdings such as Angling Direct, Likewise and Audioboom reported record trading. Detractors included MPAC Group, Northcoders and REACT Group. Post period end, NAV rose a further 0.7% to 129.3p by 31 August, reaching a new all-time high. Audioboom and Likewise were promoted to the core portfolio, while new additions were made across the nursery portfolio. The team has also been strengthened with senior hires, including former Majedie manager Mark Wharrier joining the investment committee. Chairman Andrew Henton said the performance reflected the manager’s diligence and the opportunities still available in inefficient small-cap markets, while lead manager Laurence Hulse noted that the strategy’s discipline during market volatility had set the portfolio up strongly for recovery in the second half of the year.