Interactive Investor

ii Super 60 investments:Scottish Mortgage IT

Asset GroupAsset Sub-GroupInvestment Category
EquitiesGlobal equitiesAdventurous

How the Fund Invests

Long-term manager James Anderson retired in April 2022, but succession had been clearly marked for a number of years. Tom Slater became deputy in 2009 and Lawrence Burns, who has been managing the International Growth fund since 2012, was added as deputy in 2021. Both managers have spent their entire careers at Baillie Gifford.

The process is focused on identifying hyper-growth companies around the globe and holding them for a long period to benefit from compounding. The companies are often disruptors, portfolio turnover is low and holding periods long. The trust is allowed up to 30% in unquoted names and makes full use of this flexibility. The team believe they can add value by investing in these businesses at an early stage.

This portfolio leads to a very volatile performance profile. Over the last decade the trust has provided unparalleled results when the high-growth style has boomed, however, the extreme style position also leads to the opposite effect when conditions are tougher for growth. Discount movements can exacerbate this further in terms of share price returns.

Opinion
Despite the painful drawdowns of 2022, and the retirement of James Anderson, the trust remains a good long-term option for investors looking to access high-growth and blue-sky stocks. Although investors in the trust will need to be able to tolerate large, short-term performance swings.

While the process is at the extreme end of the Baillie Gifford style, it is aligned with the house approach. The fund therefore benefits from the research resources of the group, an established investment style and two managers that have the experience to make good use of both elements.

October 2022

Risk warnings

Past performance of the underlying constituents is not a guarantee of future performance. The value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise so you could get back less than you invest. 

Annual performance can be found on the factsheet of each fund, trust or ETF. Simply click on the asset’s name and then the performance tab. 

The information we provide in the ii Super 60 investments list is an opinion provided by ii or one of its partners on whether to buy a specific investment. Please note that none of the opinions we provide are a “personal recommendation”, which means that we have not assessed your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. Therefore you should ensure that any investment decisions you make are suitable for your personal circumstances.

If you are unsure about the suitability of a particular investment or think that you need a personal recommendation, you should speak to a suitably qualified financial advisor. 

Any changes to the ii Super 60 investments list and the rationale behind those decisions will be communicated through the Quarterly Investment Review.

Details of all recommendations issued by ii during the previous 12 month period can be found here.

ii adheres to a strict code of conduct. Members of ii staff may hold shares in companies mentioned in the ii Super 60 investments list, which could create a conflict of interest. Any member of staff intending to complete some research about any financial instrument in which they have an interest are required to disclose such interest to ii. We will at all times consider whether such interest impairs the objectivity of the recommendation.

In addition, staff involved in the production of this ii Super 60 list are subject to a personal account dealing restriction. This prevents them from placing a transaction in the specified instrument(s) for five working days before and after an investment is included or amended and made public within the list. This is to avoid personal interests conflicting with the interests of the recipients of this ii Super 60 investments list.