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Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
Investment trust
Oddly enough, Scottish Mortgage Investment trust has no particular focus on Scottish investments and nothing to do with mortgages. Its name stems from its long history, which dates to 1909. These days, the trust typically holds between 50 and 100 companies worldwide, united by their strong growth prospects. The managers have a patient buy-and-hold approach and aim to maximise total returns – i.e. both income and capital growth – for shareholders over the long term. This fund typically has low turnover.
Our opinion
Scottish Mortgage Investment trust is an actively managed trust, with an enviable long-term track record. Fund managers James Anderson and Tom Slater take a high conviction approach and can invest up to 30% of the portfolio in unlisted companies. With this in mind, Scottish Mortgage Investment trust may not be appropriate for lower risk investors. However, for those seeking exposure to higher growth prospects worldwide, this trust is a well-managed option that focuses on finding tomorrow’s winners. It is also competitively priced, with a low ongoing charge and no performance fee as the team believes it undermines investment performance.
Trust manager
Investment firm Baillie Gifford manages Scottish Mortgage Investment trust. Founded in 1908 and employee-owned, the firm is based in Edinburgh and has offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. It has a partnership structure, which has enabled it to retain key people. The company has an excellent record of corporate stability, which has contributed to strong investment performance.
This trust is co-managed by James Anderson, Tom Slater and Lawrence Burns. James has been running the portfolio since April 2000. He joined Baillie Gifford in 1983 and became a partner in 1987. James is set to step down from the trust when he retires in April 2022.
Tom spent five years as deputy manager of the Scottish Mortgage Investment trust before becoming co-lead in January 2015, the same year he was appointed head of the North American equities team. Lawrence became a deputy manager on the trust in March 2021. Lawrence joined Baillie Gifford in 2009 and since 2017 he has co-managed the international concentrated growth strategy. Both Tom and Lawrence are partners at the firm.
We want our shareholders to benefit from the transformational growth opportunities that abound in this era of accelerating change.
Tom SlaterTrust manager
Investment board
The board comprises five members and is chaired by Fiona McBain, the former chief executive of Scottish Friendly Assurance. Before joining Scottish Friendly in 1998, she worked as a chartered accountant at Prudential and Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young).
The remaining board members are Justin Dowley, Professor Patrick Maxwell, Dr. Paola Subacchi and Amar Bhide. Between them, they have a variety of backgrounds in business and financial services, bringing a pool of expert knowledge to the board. They meet six times a year, and Scottish Mortgage Investment trust has a year-end of 31 March.
Investment process
James and Tom are well known for their style of growth investing. They aim to identify businesses which have the potential to disrupt their own industries, with sustainable business models in excess of five years. As a result, the portfolio tends to have a relatively high allocation to technology companies. They focus on the long-term potential of a business rather than its current value. In their own words, they “own companies rather than rent shares”. The managers also try to avoid forecasting the direction of markets or economies.
Risk
The managers make long term investments in disruptive companies, as well as those with sound business models, which enjoy a competitive advantage. Up to 25% of the portfolio can be invested in unlisted companies. Although this allocation can increase risk, it allows the managers to tap into exciting growth stories at an earlier stage. What’s more, they appear to have a keen eye for these types of investments – recent successes include Dropbox and Spotify.
Gearing
Scottish Mortgage employs strategic gearing. If used correctly, this can enhance returns over the long-term. However, it is worth noting that this can increase volatility in difficult market conditions. The maximum exposure to equities as a percentage of shareholders’ funds typically stands at 120% in normal market conditions. In exceptional conditions, borrowing will not exceed 30%.
In June 2018, Scottish Mortgage Investment trust raised a further £170 million in long-term, fixed-rate unsecured private placement notes. This provides additional long-term financing at the cost of a little under 3% per annum. This decision was taken because Scottish Mortgage’s assets have grown in recent years, which had caused the level of borrowing to fall.
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The information, data, analyses, and opinions contained herein (1) include the proprietary information of FundCalibre, (2) may not be copied or redistributed without prior permission, (3) do not constitute investment advice offered by FundCalibre, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes and therefore are not an offer to buy or sell a fund, and (5) are not warranted to be correct, complete, or accurate. FundCalibre shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from, or related to, this information, data, analyses, or opinions or their use. The Elite Fund rating is subjective in nature and reflects FundCalibre’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, FundCalibre does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its FundCalibre benchmark. Likewise, the Elite Fund rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund nor of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision. FundCalibre disclaims any responsibility for trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from any use of the Elite Fund rating. All performance data, as well as fund size, OCF, AMC, annual income (historic), share price discount or premium, is sourced directly from FE Analytics, and will change periodically.