Annual report from Ruffer Investment Company, half-year update from 3i Infrastructure and results and news from Vietnam Holding, SDCL Energy Efficiency, North Atlantic Smaller Companies and Ashoka India Equity.

Wealth preserver Ruffer Investment Company (RICA) failed to meet its benchmark in a year to 30 June that saw the departure in February of fund manager Duncan MacInnes for Aberforth. A 5.4% underlying return fell short of the 9.8% required to double the Bank of England base rate, although the shares did better providing a total 7.3% return as their discount to net asset value narrowed to 3.4% from 5%. Managers of the £869m fund, who now include Alex Chartres and Ian Rees alongside Jasmine Yeo, maintained their defensive posture faced by what they felt was “complacency and over-optimism in US equity and credit markets.”

3i Infrastructure (3IN) issued a half-year trading update yesterday saying performance is likely to be better than was expected at the start of the financial year with total income of £122m from 1 April to 29 September up 18% on the same period last year. Much of this comes from “significant value growth” at TCR, the Belgian airport ground equipment support provider that is its largest asset and which 3i is reportedly looking to sell. The £3.3bn infrastructure fund is on track to deliver the 2026 covered dividend target of 13.45p, which is 6.3% higher than last year. The shares stand on a narrow 6% discount and yield 3.7%.

Vietnam Holding (VNH) underperformed the Vietnam All Share index in the 12 months to 30 June after two strong years. An underlying 2.5% investment return diverged sharply from the 9.8% gain in the benchmark as a result of US tariff turmoil and the absence from the portfolio of housebuilder Vingroup and real estate developer Vinhomes which soared 126% and 99% after strong backing from domestic investors. Shareholders in the £93m investment company seeking long-term capital growth saw returns drop 13.8% as the discount between the share price and net asset value widened from 2.6% to 7.4%.

SDCL Energy Efficiency (SEIT), the £614m renewables fund, issued a half-year trading update saying the portfolio’s overall operational performance is “broadly in line with expectations despite having limited access to growth capital” from the trust whose shares trade 38% below net asset value and preclude fresh fund raising. However, US subsidiary Onyx Renewable Partners, which it failed to sell earlier this year, was below budget due to site-specific problems such as higher panel soiling and snow. Winterflood analyst Ashley Thomas said the recent appearance of activist Saba Capital with a 5% stake may raise hopes of initiatives to narrow the wide discount, “however we would flag that the relatively low 9.6% discount [valuation] rate results in the portfolio companies being held at relatively high EV/EBITDA multiples at carrying values,” he said, highlighting the 20 times multiple to value commercial district energy system RED-Rochester.

North Atlantic Smaller Companies (NAS), the £495m global smaller companies trust run by Harwood Capital’s Chris Mills, made a 4.8% investment return in the six months to 31 July. The half-year performance beat the 1.2% and 8.9% declines in the S&P 500 and Russell 2000, the US indices the fund despite having a large UK exposure. The total return to shareholders was 4.8% with the unchanged 30.5% share price discount expected to prompt more buybacks in coming months. The 2026 full-year dividend is expected to “approximate” last year’s.

Tufton Assets (SHIP), the operator of a fleet of 20 commercial vessels, saw net asset value per share fall 14.8% from $1.55 to $1.32 in the year to 30 June in response to a charter market weakened by US tariff and security concerns. The total underlying investment loss was reduced to 9.1% with the 8.9%-yielder’s dividends included. The shares stand on a 15% discount that has reduced from 27% at the start of the financial year.

Ashoka India Equity (AIE) says that shareholders who sold 1.5%, or 2.5m, of its shares in the annual redemption facility will receive 267.19p per share. Payments are expected on 14 October.