The number of major institutional players dipping their feet into Bitcoin continues to grow as now the UK Stock exchange investment company Ruffer has followed suit. The share company, founded in 2004, released a note to investors explaining its Bitcoin position.
“We wanted to give shareholders a short update on performance this year and to let you know about a new allocation to the digital currency bitcoin.,” the note began.
“One recent addition, via one of the specialist managers appointed within the Ruffer Multi-Strategies Fund, has been bitcoin. This is primarily a defensive move, one made in November after reducing the company’s exposure to gold.”
This is an interesting strategy being taken by the firm as it seems to suggest they want to rely less on gold as a hedge in times of turmoil, and thus clearly see Bitcoin in line with being an alternative hedge.
“The exposure to bitcoin is currently equivalent to around 2.5% of the portfolio. We see this as a small but potent insurance policy against the continuing devaluation of the world’s major currencies. Bitcoin diversifies the company’s (much larger) investments in gold and inflation-linked bonds, and acts as a hedge to some of the monetary and market risks that we see,” the note concluded.
