RIT Capital’s 2025: Double‑digit returns, SpaceX uplift and a still‑wide discount
RIT Capital Partners has posted a strong 2025, with a 13.5% Net Asset Value (NAV) per share total return and a 16.9% share price total return. All three investment pillars fired, led by Private Investments, and the Board kept the pressure on the discount with more buybacks and another dividend rise planned for 2026. The one blemish: RIT trailed its equity reference, the ACWI (50% £), which rose 17.1%.
In plain English, NAV is the value of all the assets minus liabilities, per share. Total return folds in dividends. A discount is when the share price trades below NAV – and at year end RIT still sat at a fairly chunky -22.3%.
Key numbers investors care about
| Metric | 2025 | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| NAV per share (diluted) | 2,921p | +11.7% |
| Share price | 2,270p | +14.3% |
| NAV total return | 13.5% | +4.1% pts |
| Share price total return | 16.9% | +9.0% pts |
| Discount to NAV | -22.3% | improved from -24.0% |
| Net assets | £4,040m | +8.3% |
| Gearing | 3.2% | down from 8.9% |
| OCF (ongoing charges) | 0.73% | down from 0.76% |
| Dividend paid in 2025 | 43.0p | +10.3% |
| Planned dividend for 2026 | 45.0p | +4.7% |
| Buybacks in 2025 | 3.0% of shares (£89m) | added an est. 0.9% to NAV TR |
Private Investments: SpaceX uplift and AI themes do the heavy lifting
Private Investments returned 18.3% and contributed 6.5% to NAV. Realisations of £232m – equal to 5.7% of year-end NAV and 18.6% of the private book – marked the highest level since 2021. The direct private portfolio returned a punchy 47.4%, with exits achieved at an aggregate 112% above carrying value. Specialist private funds added 10.2% and remained self-funding.
New and increased positions leaned into frontier tech: a larger stake in SpaceX and fresh investments in Anthropic and Databricks. Management also called out realisations across AI and fintech names, including Scale AI, Webull and Xapo Bank. By year end, SpaceX became the largest direct position in the private portfolio after a significant valuation uplift.
Opinion: this is the sort of private market execution investors want to see – cash back from exits and selective deployment into high‑growth winners. The risk, as ever, is valuation sensitivity and liquidity. But the self-funding nature of the private funds book, plus the step-up on realisations, helps.
Quoted Equities: specialist managers shine; stock picks mixed
Quoted Equities returned 15.0% and contributed 6.9% to NAV. Performance within funds was led by specialists focused on biotech, Japan and emerging markets. Direct holdings enjoyed tailwinds from European aerospace and defence, although a few idiosyncratic names offset part of the gains.
RIT trimmed overall public equity exposure but shifted towards external managers and away from direct positions, with more capital pointed at Europe, Asia, emerging markets and commodity-related stocks. Less North America at the margin is a notable pivot and aligns with the firm’s “multipolar world” thesis.
Opinion: the 15.0% return is solid, but it lagged the 17.1% ACWI (50% £). Given RIT’s diversifiers and FX headwinds, that is understandable, though persistent underperformance versus global equities would be a watch item.
Uncorrelated Strategies: the steady diversifier did its job
Uncorrelated Strategies – think absolute return and credit funds plus diversifiers like gold – generated a 12.1% return and a 3.4% contribution to NAV. Gold helped; interest-rate sensitive and carbon credits slightly detracted. This bucket rose to 25.6% of NAV at year end.
Opinion: this pillar is designed to smooth the ride. It did exactly that in 2025 and provides a cushion if equity markets wobble in 2026.
FX was a headwind, but hedging helped
The US dollar dropped nearly 8% against sterling in 2025. RIT’s active currency hedging pared the damage, but FX still clipped -2.9% from returns after hedging. Worth remembering when comparing to equity indices: currency can move the dial for a global trust.
Discount watch: narrowing, but still deep
The discount tightened to -22.3% at 31 December 2025 from -24.0% a year ago and from -29.7% at end-August. The Company bought back 3.0% of shares in 2025 for £89m, adding an estimated 0.9% to NAV total return. Since early 2023, RIT has repurchased 11.2% of share capital.
Opinion: performance plus buybacks plus better disclosure appear to be working, but a -22.3% discount remains substantial for a long-term, multi-asset trust. Continued exits in Private Investments, further narrowing of the information gap, and steady NAV progression are the obvious catalysts from here.
Dividends and costs: two quiet positives
Shareholders received 43.0p in 2025, up 10.3%. The Board plans 45.0p for 2026 – a 4.7% rise and a 13th straight year of growth, payable in April and October. The ongoing charges figure edged down to 0.73% and gearing fell to 3.2%, giving flexibility if markets throw up opportunities.
How the portfolio is positioned going into 2026
- Allocation at year end: Quoted Equities 43.3%, Private Investments 31.7%, Uncorrelated Strategies 25.6%.
- Regional tilt: greater emphasis on the UK and Europe, emerging markets and commodities; relatively less North America in quoted equities.
- Private pipeline: focus on high-conviction tech themes with ongoing exposure to SpaceX, Anthropic and Databricks.
Management’s thesis is simple: a more multipolar world plus practical AI adoption should broaden leadership beyond the US, with commodities and select non-US markets benefitting. That backdrop arguably suits an active, globally flexible trust like RIT.
Why this update matters for retail investors
- Execution in privates is delivering: £232m of exits and a 47.4% direct private return are tangible proof points.
- Discount remains the opportunity – and the frustration: at -22.3%, each buyback and each quarter of steady NAV growth can compound the closing of that gap.
- Risk remains balanced but real: 31.7% in Private Investments carries valuation and liquidity risk; FX can still bite despite hedging; and a few direct stock missteps show active risk is alive.
Josh’s take: constructive, with an eye on the gap
On the whole, this is a good year. RIT beat its inflation hurdle comfortably, delivered double-digit returns across all pillars, and tightened the discount. Currency was unhelpful and the trust underperformed ACWI (50% £), but that is the trade-off when you blend equities with diversifiers and a chunky private sleeve.
If RIT can keep compounding NAV, recycle private positions into cash at or above carrying values, and stick with disciplined buybacks, the discount has room to narrow further. Against a -22.3% starting point, you do not need perfection for decent upside.
Bottom line: steady hands on the portfolio, better communication, and clear capital allocation all point the right way. Watch for continued private realisations, any further SpaceX-related valuation moves, and progress in EM and commodity-linked equities as potential swing factors in 2026.
