Ruffer Investment Company sent a short update to shareholders Tuesday notifying them of the company’s November allocation to bitcoin.
- In November, Ruffer allocated what is currently worth approximately 2.5% of its total assets under management to bitcoin, per the memo, an investment currently worth over $740 million. The firm manages roughly $27 billion.
- "We see this as a small but potent insurance policy against the continuing devaluation of the world's major currencies," the London-based firm wrote.
- "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," Ruffer said.
- The four-paragraph memo was sent to shareholders Tuesday.
- Bitcoin gained over 40% in November, closing the month by setting a new record high above $19,850.
Update (Dec. 15, 18:41 UTC): Updated to fix typographical error reflecting that bitcoin gained 40% in November, not $40.
Correction (Dec. 16, 14:05 UTC): An earlier correction to this story was itself wrong and the original version of the article was accurate. As a spokesman for Ruffer clarified the initial memo and directly confirmed to CoinDesk Wednesday morning that the investment firm now holds over $740 million worth of bitcoin.