Tuesday 05 March 2019 12:17 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:18 am

Lord Rothschild warns on market volatility after ‘difficult and treacherous year’ for investors

Last year was the “most difficult and treacherous year for investors” in a decade, Lord Rothschild said today as his investment trust RIT Capital Partners reported shrinking net asset value.

The company said Net Asset Value (NAV) per share was 1,821p in the year to the end of December 2018, down from 1,839p the previous year.

Meanwhile, total net assets were £2.8bn, a drop from a record-breaking £2.9bn at the end of 2017.

Lord Rothschild, chairman of RIT Capital Partners, said: “2018 was the most difficult and treacherous year for investors since 2008, with negative returns in all major asset classes.”

He warned that declining global growth and geopolitical tensions would continue to be a risk going forward.

Rothschild said: “In the current year stock markets have, so far, shown significant gains. We remain however cautious about future prospects for markets, concerned over the accumulation of downside risks.

“Global growth is declining, with the IMF having further reduced its forecasts. The weakest Chinese GDP growth in nearly three decades is clearly having an impact on other regions, while German manufacturing output has contracted for the first time in four years.

“The most recent retail figures in the US lead one to believe that the economy will find it difficult to repeat last year’s fiscal‐fuelled results.

“Against this weakening backdrop, geopolitical risks have not subsided.

“We are surely witnessing the worst political situation in the United Kingdom since the Suez crisis, while social unrest and populism in a number of European countries cloud the future. …We therefore anticipate a continuation of heightened market volatility.

“In these circumstances, capital preservation will remain as high a priority as any in the management of your company’s interest.”