Scottish Mortgage Faces Pivotal Vote on Private Assets as SpaceX Volatility and Anthropic IPO Hype Collide
29.06.2026 - 16:56:09 | boerse-global.de
The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s shareholders have little time to digest a month of whiplash from their largest holding before heading to the ballot box on Thursday. The Baillie Gifford-managed fund will ask investors in Edinburgh to ratify a permanent breach of its self-imposed 30% cap on unlisted investments — a limit that SpaceX already shattered last year when the rocket company’s valuation soared past £3 billion, making it the portfolio’s biggest single position.
The AGM’s core question: how much private exposure is too much?
Management wants formal permission to keep the private-asset allocation above the old ceiling, with room to add another £250 million to unlisted bets. That mandate would need annual renewal from shareholders. The vote comes after SpaceX’s star turn on the Nasdaq in mid-June, when its operational momentum drove the holding to roughly a quarter of the portfolio. But the celebration was short-lived: in a single night, SpaceX shares lost as much as 16.4%, dragging the trust’s net asset value lower. Investors appear to be pricing in the damage — the stock rose 2.41% on the day of the AGM announcement to €16.59, suggesting a tentative stabilisation.
Buyback rules tighten after a record splurge
On top of the private-asset vote, the trust is overhauling its approach to share repurchases. In the last financial year, Scottish Mortgage ploughed £1.31 billion into buying back its own stock in an effort to close the persistent discount to net asset value. The new regime is more disciplined: buybacks will only be triggered when the share price trades below NAV. That rule shift reflects a desire to avoid wasting firepower, though the discount remains stubborn — last traded at roughly 8.84% under NAV, with the 50-day moving average sitting at €16.99, just above the current price.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Scottish Mortgage Investment?
A dividend milestone and a profit explosion
Shareholders will also vote on the 43rd consecutive dividend increase, with the payout rising 4.3% to 4.57 pence per share. The trust’s primary focus remains capital growth, and the numbers certainly back that up. Net profit surged to approximately £3.1 billion from £1.2 billion a year earlier, while the NAV climbed more than 27% over the same period. Year to date, the stock has gained roughly 19%.
Anthropic: the next catalyst waiting in the wings
While SpaceX steals the headlines, a far more orderly story is brewing. AI company Anthropic, developer of the Claude language models, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, having last raised funds at a $900 billion valuation. Baillie Gifford has repeatedly marked up its Anthropic stake in recent months, and an IPO as soon as this summer could deliver a meaningful NAV uplift. That prospect is already fuelling talk that the current discount — still around 15% below the 52-week high — could narrow sharply if the listing lands near those lofty numbers.
Headwinds in private equity test the thesis
The broader environment for unlisted assets is far from hospitable. A recent industry report warns of credit stress and falling software valuations, while tech deal volume in the first quarter collapsed 70% year-on-year. Despite the gloom, at least one major holder is adding: Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management recently lifted its stake to above 3%. The July 2 outcome will determine whether Scottish Mortgage can double down on its conviction in private markets or be forced by shareholders to rethink its portfolio mix. With the stock still below both its 50-day average and its NAV, Thursday’s vote could deliver the next big directional signal.
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