- Scottish Mortgage has had a rocky ride in the face of higher rates
- Can we expect another run of stellar returns in future?
Few UK investment trusts are as distinctive or well known as Scottish Mortgage (SMT). Set up in 1909 as a play on booming demand for rubber, it has become better known in recent history for its bets on disruptive internet companies in the US and China. That produced storming returns in the low-rate era that followed the financial crash of 2007/08, and especially big gains in the pandemic too.
Yet the FTSE 100 trust’s growth-minded approach has cost it dearly in recent times. Shareholders suffered a gut-wrenching 46 per cent loss in 2022 as rate rises put the squeeze on growth assets. SMT shares have done well since – the trust is ahead of its benchmark over one and five years, albeit not three – but over the same timeframes they trail the dedicated technology trusts that compete for the attention of growth-seeking investors.