Rothschild puts daughter on the board of £2bn RIT

Lord Rothschild has appointed his eldest daughter to the board of his £2bn investment company RIT Capital Partners.

Hannah Rothschild, 51, right, is a writer, film-maker and senior editor of the UK edition of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. She is also on the board of several philanthropic trusts and museums, including the National Gallery and the family seat, Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Her younger brother, Nat, has recently been embroiled in controversy over the mining group Bumi.

The news came as Jacob, the 4th Baron Rothschild, reported that the net asset value of RIT had produced a market-beating total return of 16.9 per cent so far this year, taking its total net asset value above £2bn for the first time.

RIT’s stunning performance came as it bet on US and Japanese equities, bet against US Treasury bonds and juggled its assets to take advantage of the rising dollar against the euro and the yen.

“As recovery still relies so heavily on central bank creation of money, the search for quality has been our main focus,” said the 77-year-old peer.

“We continue, even so, to research and identify companies and special situations that would benefit from the much-needed transition from growth created by printing money to one of more sustained growth.”

RIT said yesterday it would maintain its interim dividend at 14p a share.