Private Tech Catalysts Drive Scottish Mortgage’s Return to Share Issuance and Record NAV Growth

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust now issues shares at a premium after years of discount, driven by private holdings like Anthropic's IPO. NAV returns beat FTSE All-World.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has completed a remarkable pivot. After years of aggressive share buybacks to combat a stubborn discount of around 20%, the trust is now issuing new shares at a premium to net asset value (NAV) — a clear signal of renewed market confidence. The transformation has been powered by a portfolio of high-profile private companies, most notably Anthropic, which last month filed for an initial public offering.

The trust sold 2.35 million shares from its own holdings on 1 June, followed by a further 3.85 million shares shortly after, both tranches priced above NAV. The shift reflects a stark change in sentiment: shares that once traded at a roughly 20% discount now command an 8% premium. Market observers see this as an advance vote of confidence in the trust’s private equity bets, including a potential SpaceX listing.

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence developer in which Scottish Mortgage holds a 2.6% stake, has become the most immediate catalyst. Its annualised revenue is now estimated at more than $30 billion, up from around $1 billion just fifteen months ago. The IPO filing lifted Scottish Mortgage’s share price to 1,533 pence at one point and has focused attention on how the trust’s internal valuations of private holdings will hold up under public market scrutiny.

The trust has been investing in unlisted growth companies since 2012, channelling a total of £4.9 billion into that segment. In the financial year just ended, it deployed £254 million in new private investments, nearly double the £132 million in the prior year. New additions included Anthropic, the social-media platform RedNote, and animal-health biotech Loyal Animal Health. Existing stakes in Enveda, Redwood Materials and Zipline were topped up.

That private-market emphasis underpins the trust’s performance. Over the twelve months to March, NAV posted a total return of 27.4%, comfortably beating the FTSE All-World index’s 18.0%. The longer-term record is even more striking: a decade-long NAV total return of 435% versus 234% for the benchmark. Total assets reached £13.82 billion.

Shareholders will vote on 2 July 2026 on a proposed expansion of the private-investment ceiling, which currently stands at 30% of total assets. Management is seeking greater flexibility to participate in late-stage funding rounds. In April, the trust secured a limited waiver allowing it to invest up to an additional £250 million beyond the 30% threshold, a move designed to avoid dilution in fast-moving private deals.

The same meeting will address the dividend. A proposed final payout would lift the full-year distribution to 4.57 pence, marking the 43rd consecutive annual increase. The dividend is due to be paid on 10 July if the vote passes.

Despite the upbeat narrative, the shares have pulled back recently. They traded at €17.43 on Friday, roughly 10% below the 52-week high, though they still show a year-to-date gain of over 25%. Management has tightened the buyback rules: repurchases will resume only if the share price falls below NAV, effectively ending the proactive support that characterised the earlier discount-fighting phase.

The trust’s cost structure remains lean, with ongoing charges of about 0.33% of average NAV and no performance fee. That discipline, combined with the private-portfolio strategy, has drawn strong retail demand — Scottish Mortgage was the most-bought investment trust on Interactive Investor in May.

The next major test will be Anthropic’s IPO. A successful debut could validate the trust’s private-markets thesis and shine a light on its other unlisted giants, including SpaceX, ByteDance, Databricks and Stripe. If the IPO window closes, however, Scottish Mortgage will remain reliant on internal valuations, a vulnerability that the premium-to-NAV issuance has only temporarily masked.