From SpaceX's $75bn IPO to Anthropic's $965bn Filing: Scottish Mortgage Faces a Private-Market Pivot at AGM

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust seeks shareholder approval to exceed 30% private equity limit after SpaceX's record IPO; Anthropic's confidential filing and active buybacks add to pivotal AGM agenda.

A record-breaking market debut and a confidential filing for what could become the first trillion-dollar AI listing — yet Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust's shareholders have more than just milestones to digest. The £13bn trust, whose portfolio is heavily weighted toward unlisted technology giants, is heading into a pivotal annual general meeting on July 2 with its investment strategy under the microscope.

The immediate trigger for the gathering in Edinburgh is a structural breach: SpaceX, the trust's single largest holding at 21% of assets, now commands a market capitalisation of over $2 trillion following its float on the Nasdaq on June 12. The company placed 556 million shares at $135 each, raising $75bn in the biggest initial public offering in history, and closed its first day at roughly $161 under the ticker SPCX. That marks a 19% pop, but for Scottish Mortgage the valuation windfall has pushed its private-equity exposure well beyond the 30% ceiling set in its investment policy.

Management is seeking shareholder approval to invest up to £250m more in private companies even if that means exceeding the current limit. The motion would allow follow-on investments in core portfolio holdings without being forced to sell because of rising valuations or buyback activity. The vote effectively asks investors to embrace a higher degree of concentration in unlisted markets.

The macro backdrop has complicated the message. A robust US jobs report released on the same Friday as the SpaceX debut crushed hopes of early interest-rate cuts, sending Scottish Mortgage shares into a tailspin. By Monday the stock had reversed course, climbing 3.19% to €16.64 — though that remains 15.6% shy of the all-time high of €19.50 reached in May. Earlier in the session the shares had touched €16.46, reflecting the volatile tug-of-war between monetary-policy anxiety and the growing value of the trust's private holdings.

Those holdings may soon get another public-market boost. Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI assistant, filed a confidential IPO prospectus with the SEC on June 1. The company was valued at $965bn after a $65bn funding round, and analysts expect a formal listing as early as October 2026. Scottish Mortgage also holds a stake in Anthropic, positioning it to benefit from what could be the first pure-play AI company to approach a trillion-dollar market cap.

Underscoring the trust's commitment to its private-market bet, the board has been active in the buyback market. On June 8 it repurchased 800,000 own shares at roughly 1,437 pence each, followed by another 435,000 shares on June 11 at 1,413.94 pence. The programme only kicks in when the shares trade at a discount to net asset value, and the AGM will also see a vote on a new buyback authority covering up to 15% of outstanding equity.

The dividend story remains a mixed signal. The payout is being lifted 4.3% to 4.57 pence per share, extending a 43-year unbroken run of increases. But the total distribution of roughly £50m more than doubles the trust's recurring income of £25.6m, forcing the board to dip into reserves accumulated during stronger years. That kind of strain is unlikely to persist indefinitely, but it buys time for the private companies to mature.

Large institutional investors appear to be looking past the near-term noise. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management recently built its voting rights in the trust to more than 3%, a move widely interpreted as a signal of long-term conviction rather than a tactical trade. Short-term traders, meanwhile, have been taking profits after the YTD gain of 18.5%.

Technically, the stock has room to move in either direction: the relative strength index stands at 42.3, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. The outcome of the July 2 vote — and the market's reaction to it — will likely determine whether the shares can close the gap to their record high or whether the discount to NAV widens further as investors weigh the risks of an increasingly private-heavy portfolio.