Rothschild cuts back on his risk as shares rocket amid turmoil

Lord Rothschild on Monday said “unprecedented” share price highs and global turmoil has forced him to cut his stock market investments.

The 81-year-old banker warned sky-high share prices in the US and an end to monetary easing was a cause for concern and he had trimmed his market exposure.

“We do not believe this is an appropriate time to add to risk,” he said.

Stocks as a proportion of RIT Capital, the investment vehicle he runs for shareholders, fell from 56% of the fund to 55%, with more money ploughed into currencies like sterling.

RIT gained £79 million in value for the six months ending June 30 to £2.78 billion with the net asset value per share up 54p to £1.784.

Rothschild (pictured) will put money into Silicon Valley tech firm Social Capital, which seeds companies in the healthcare, education and finance sector.