Personal Assets Trust is being outstripped by inflation – can it recover?

With Personal Assets Trust (LSE: PNL), Capital Gearing (LSE: CGT) and Ruffer (LSE: RICA) all losing value after inflation, many investors who turned to wealth preservation trusts over the past five years will have been disappointed.In that time, UK inflation – as defined by the consumer price index (CPI) – has averaged 5% per year, or 27.5%. Meanwhile, Personal Assets is up 20.8% on a net asset value (NAV) basis to the end of August or 3.85% per year. Ruffer has gained 20% (3.7% per