Scottish Mortgage Faces Pivotal Vote as SpaceX Weight Exceeds Fifth of Portfolio

Scottish Mortgage's AGM vote on raising unlisted holdings cap and SpaceX's impending IPO test shareholder patience, with concentration risk as SpaceX now 21% of NAV.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is entering a defining period that will test both its strategy and the patience of its shareholders. On July 2, investors will vote on whether to raise the cap on unlisted holdings beyond the current 30% limit — a decision that comes as the trust’s SpaceX stake alone has swelled to more than a fifth of the portfolio. The vote, combined with a long-awaited SpaceX initial public offering and the promise of further private-market exits, will determine how much flexibility fund manager Tom Slater retains to pursue high-conviction bets.

SpaceX now accounts for 21.0% of Scottish Mortgage’s net asset value, up from 17.9% at the end of April. Following confirmation of an IPO price of $135 per share, the trust revalued its position to approximately £3.5 billion — more than twenty times its original cost. The launch is expected on June 12, with SpaceX targeting a valuation between $1.76 trillion and $1.78 trillion. Analysts at Winterflood, including Emma Bird, estimate that an IPO at the rumoured valuation could lift the trust’s NAV by around 7%.

The listing will transform the nature of Scottish Mortgage’s largest holding from an opaque private asset into a publicly traded stock, potentially easing one of the trust’s perennial concerns: liquidity. However, management is likely to be locked into the position for a period after the IPO, with historical precedents suggesting a six-month lock-up. Co-manager Tom Slater has acknowledged that such concentration brings volatility, yet the trust has held firm.

Despite the NAV uplift, the market response has been muted. Scottish Mortgage’s shares slipped 2.51% on Friday to €17.45, extending a retreat from the 52-week high of €19.50 hit on May 25. The stock remains up roughly 25% year to date, but the discount to NAV has widened, reflecting nervousness about the trust’s heavy reliance on a single event.

The pending AGM is the next major catalyst. The board is seeking authority to buy back up to 15% of outstanding shares when they trade below NAV. Such a move would shrink the denominator and mechanically push the private-holding ratio higher — a dynamic that has already forced the trust to secure approval for up to £250 million in additional unlisted investments beyond the 30% threshold. In the past financial year, Scottish Mortgage bought back £1.31 billion of its own shares.

Beyond SpaceX, the trust’s portfolio holds further IPO candidates. Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company in which Scottish Mortgage owns a 2.6% stake, is also preparing to go public. A successful Anthropic listing would provide another NAV boost — and intensify the concentration debate.

Shareholders also have a dividend event to track. The shares go ex-dividend on June 12, with a final payout of 2.97 pence scheduled for July. The timing means the trust will simultaneously be navigating the SpaceX debut, the AGM vote, and a capital return — a confluence of corporate actions that will keep the spotlight on Scottish Mortgage for weeks to come.