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Scottish Mortgage NAV Jumps 31.5% on SpaceX

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust says its net asset value rose 31.5% in six months, almost double the global index, as SpaceX, Moderna and Anthropic drove returns and the managers cut gearing.

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Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LON: SMT) reported a 31.5% total return on net asset value in the six months to the 30th of September, against 16.0% for the FTSE All-World Index. Net asset value is the worth of the trust’s holdings less its debts, per share. The results came out yesterday.

The share price returned 33.8%, ending the period at 1,590.5p against 1,191.0p at the end of March. The discount to net asset value narrowed to 7.9% from 9.5%. These are period-end prices, not current ones.

SMT.LSE

SpaceX was the biggest contributor, adding 8.0 percentage points after its listing on the 12th of June, which the managers called the largest IPO in history. Moderna added 4.5 points after its shares nearly tripled in a day in August on a successful late-stage melanoma trial. The managers admit the original holding was too large, a mistake, and trimmed it. Anthropic, added to in May, contributed 3.4 points.

The managers sold SpaceX as lock-ups, the restrictions on selling after a listing, allowed. It made up more than a quarter of the portfolio before the cuts, 15.0% of assets on the 30th of September and 11.1% on Wednesday. Proceeds helped repay bank loans and redeem a £50m debenture, taking gearing to 4% from 11%. Private companies were 24.9% of assets.

The longer record is more mixed. Over three years the trust’s share price returned 140.7% against 67.5% for the index. Over five years it returned 13.9%, with net asset value at 27.8%, against 79.3% for the index.

Grouped bar chart of Scottish Mortgage NAV and share price total returns against the FTSE All-World Index over six months, one, three and five years
Scottish Mortgage beat the index over six months, one year and three years, but not five. Total return, %, to 30 September 2026. Source: LSEG/Baillie Gifford

Chair Christopher Samuel said the five-year figures show shareholder experience differs by period, and the Board judges the trust on its longer-term record.

The trust bought back 72.9m shares for about £1.06bn by the end of September. The interim dividend rises to 1.80p from 1.60p, extending 43 consecutive years of increases. It goes ex-dividend on the 19th of November and is payable on the 11th of December.

The managers say six months is too short to judge performance, and the Board warns of volatility. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

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