Share |

Market Insight

Ruffer on why inflation is the ‘starting gun’ for global volatility

June 17, 2021

“I have little doubt that with excess savings, new stimulus savings, huge deficit spending, more QE, a new potential infrastructure bill, a successful vaccine and euphoria around the end of the pandemic, the US economy will likely boom,” Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, said in May 2021.

The number of companies raising prices in the United States is at a 35-year high.

“This boom could easily run into 2023 because all the spending could extend well into 2023.”

Water scarcity: The other liquidity crisis

May 28, 2021

Water, in many ways, is a proxy for life itself. Civilisations have sprung from fertile river valleys and along the trading routes of the seas. For NASA, when searching for extra-terrestrial life, the guiding principle has been to ‘follow the water’.

What is water scarcity?

Private debt—The outlook for 2021: Is the old new again?

May 13, 2021

Providing loans to companies has historically been one of the main components of commercial banking activity and goes back hundreds of years. Today, private debt comes in many forms, but most commonly involves non-bank institutions making loans to private companies based on the cashflows generated by the respective business, or for the acquisition of a hard asset (eg, real estate) or acquiring existing loans on the secondary market.

Providing loans to companies has historically been one of the main components of commercial banking activity and goes back hundreds of years. Today, private debt comes in many forms, but most commonly involves non-bank institutions making loans to private companies based on cashflows generated by the respective business, or for the acquisition of a hard asset (eg, real estate) or acquiring existing loans on the secondary market.

Inflation protection—What’s the right recipe?

April 28, 2021

Inflation is in the news again. Many prices are rising even before we can physically get out and spend, and governments are pouring vast amounts into the economy.

Inflation is in the news again. Many prices are rising even before we can physically get out and spend, and governments are pouring vast amounts into the economy.

Whichever side of the inflation debate you are on, it makes sense to assess the impact inflation could have on portfolios. Most of today’s investors have never seen meaningful inflation in the whole of their professional careers. So, as we emerge from lockdowns and pent-up demand meets ongoing supply constraints, we consider how different asset classes might fare if inflation does return.

Post-lockdown investment: Why the regions are rich with office opportunity

April 27, 2021

The whole ‘death of the office’ shtick has been subject to many articles over the last six months, but this is not one of them. It is, however, about how offices remain an investable asset, how the perception of offices is changing and why family offices should be looking to acquire them sooner rather than later.

Currently, there is a unique window of opportunity, particularly in the regions, as a large chunk of the institutional and fund investor population is currently sitting on the side-lines.

Jonathan Ruffer reflects on 40-years of investments

April 21, 2021

In lockdown, I have been watching the blockbuster Deutschland 89. There’s a moment in the hours before the fall of the Berlin Wall when the top-dog commissar considers whether to shoot himself—but a little piece of hemp consoles him with the thought that times of change are times of opportunity, times that bring up new winners.

Jurassic risk and the chomping of the traditional balanced portfolio

March 31, 2021

The death of inflation has been greatly exaggerated. Its return will first scare, then maim, then ruin the traditional balanced portfolios have that served investors well for a generation. Investors need to prepare for a world of greater inflation volatility. And with it a monumental risk—bonds and equities falling in tandem.

Investors’ great fear

Q1 2021 Fixed Income Survey: The inflation beast has awoken—how big will its bite be?

March 24, 2021

In this latest survey by Russell Investments, 50 leading bond and currency managers considered valuations, expectations and outlooks for the coming months. What are the inflation expectations going forward and will higher rates in the developed world dent the previous optimism for emerging market debt?

In this latest survey by Russell Investments, 50 leading bond and currency managers considered valuations, expectations and outlooks for the coming months.

Russell Investments on the UK Budget 2021: The Rishi rebound

March 4, 2021

The UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced his 2021 UK Budget with two significant goals: To provide support for households and businesses through the final stage of the coronavirus pandemic and to provide a roadmap for how the government plans to reduce the fiscal deficit over time and pay for pandemic support measures.

The UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced his 2021 UK Budget with two significant goals:

1. Provide support for households and businesses through the final stage of the coronavirus pandemic.

2. Provide a roadmap for how the government plans to reduce the fiscal deficit over time and pay for pandemic support measures.

Ruffer Radio: A bias to belief

March 2, 2021

Bethany McLean, journalist and author of several books about businesses gone wrong, is the guest in the latest episode of Ruffer Radio.

Bethany McLean, journalist and author of several books about businesses gone wrong, is the guest in the latest episode of Ruffer Radio.

McLean specialises in casting light on the shadier corners of the financial world, renowned for her exposé of the Enron scandal in the early 2000s.