01:45 Wed 20 Jan 2010
Rothschilds reveals its top hedge fund picks and currency plays
RIT Capital Partners, Lord Jacob Rothschild's (pictured) listed investment vehicle, has increased its dollar exposure and moved back into hedge funds.
The trust, which is currently trading around £10.28 per share at a discount to NAV of 4.4%, sold down its hedge fund exposure during the credit crunch.
However, this year, the trust has invested $27 million (£16.5 million) in Althea, the recently launched emerging markets hedge fund.
Althea was founded in November 2009 by Tudor Investment veteran James Harpel and former SAC Capital European chief Kenneth Ginsburg after they raised $100 million (£61.4 million) for the new vehicle.
RIT has also placed a $40 million (£24.5 million) investment in Penta, an Asia hedge fund that also invests in Japan. The fund is run by former Soros Fund Management star trader John Zwaanstra and has a minimum investment of $2 million.
Away from hedge funds, the trust has also bought stakes in two unquoted ventures. RIT invested in Helios Towers Africa, an operator of telecommunications towers in sub-Saharan Africa, and Agora, a North Sea oil and gas hydrocarbon exploration and production company.
The trust has also switched its currency positioning, upping its exposure to the dollar and trimming back yen holdings.
RIT Capital's principal exposure in US dollars rose from 23.1% of the portfolio at the end of September to 34.3% at the end of December. Conversely, yen exposure went from 2.3% to -9.0%.
Sterling exposure has been pared back from 15.9% to 8.2%, while euro exposure has also been reduced from 14.8% to 9.4%. However, the renmimbi weighting rose from 4.3% to 14.8%.
Over the past three years, RIT Capital Partners NAV rose 8.54 % while the FTSE WI World index increased by 9.03%.
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