UK fund firm Ruffer piles $745mln into bitcoin in ‘defensive move’ -memo

UK fund firm Ruffer piles $745mln into bitcoin in ‘defensive move’ -memo

LONDON- British fund manager Ruffer Investment Management last month added bitcoin now worth around 550 million pounds ($745 million) to its portfolio, a spokesman for the company told Reuters, in one of the largest signals of rising institutional interest in the digital currency this year.The allocation by Ruffer, which managed 20.3 billion pounds ($27.3 billion) in assets at end-November on behalf of more than 6,500 investors globally, "acts as a hedge to some of the risks that we see in a fragile monetary system and distorted financial markets," the spokesman said via email.The allocation represents around 2.7% of Ruffer's total assets, he added.Bitcoin has soared to a record high this year, up 170%, as investors see in the cryptocurrency a hedge against the risk of inflation as governments and central banks turn on the stimulus taps, and a digital payment method that promises to go mainstream.On Wednesday it was up 1.8% at $19,780, just below from its all-time high of $19,918 hit this month.The price surge makes bitcoin an attractive bet for investors willing to take riskier positions as they hunt for yield in a record-low interest rate environment."Bitcoin diversifies the company's (much larger) investments in gold and inflation-linked bonds,