Half-year Report

RNS Number : 4479E

Scottish Mortgage Inv Tst PLC

06 November 2020

 

RNS Announcement
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC
Legal Entity Identifier: 213800G37DCS3Q9IJM38
Results for the six months to 30 September 2020
The following is the unaudited Interim Financial Report for the six months to 30 September 2020 which was approved by the Board on 5 November 2020.
Interim management report

Over the long run, stock market returns are driven by a small number of exceptional companies. The progress of such companies is rarely smooth or linear. They have breakthroughs and they have setbacks. Sentiment in the market exaggerates the peaks and troughs, driving price volatility that is commonly mistaken for risk. When we believe we have identified an exceptional company that is pursuing a large opportunity, we look beyond this cycle of feast and famine. With a longer timeframe, such oscillations matter less and the picture of compounding growth becomes clearer. Many, if not most, investments won't turn out as we hope. However, for the companies that do succeed, the returns are transformational and they have a disproportionate impact on the portfolio. This is why we approach our task with optimism. It is more important to identify the factors that will allow a company to prosper than to enumerate the potential pitfalls along the way. This approach has driven our long-run returns. Over five years Scottish Mortgage's net asset value per share with debt at fair value (NAV) has increased by 340% versus a 96% increase in the FTSE All-World index (both in total return terms). Over 10 years it has increased by 674% against 191%. Six months of data is too short a period to infer much that is useful from stock prices. Since the end of March our NAV rose by 76% compared to a 24% increase in the index.

Whilst our focus is on the generation of long-term increases in capital values, we recognise that a small but consistent dividend is of value to many investors. The Board is therefore recommending an interim dividend of 1.45p, a modest increase to the previous year.

Looking at the recent period, we must avoid the temptation to match outcomes with easy or obvious explanations. The global pandemic has, for sure, had big short-term impacts but a company's stock price incorporates an estimate of all future cashflows and is not simply a measure of relative success at this unusual time. The oddities of the pandemic will fade, some long-running shifts in our economy will have been accelerated and the stresses we have experienced will spark new waves of innovation. More importantly for your portfolio, several holdings have made considerable progress and we have greater clarity on both the size of opportunity and the companies' ability to execute.

The increase in Tesla's stock price and its dramatic impact on the Trust's returns should be seen in context. Whilst the company and its colourful founder attract an unusually high degree of attention, emotion and noise, the underlying return picture is far from an aberration. Returns are concentrated in a handful of big winners. With far less drama, this has been the case for our holdings in both Amazon and Tencent over the past decade. Tesla's success has been earned over a period of ownership extending back to 2013 and, as with most successful investments, we have endured large drawdowns in its stock price on the way to the current position.

Tesla has made significant operational progress. It has successfully added capacity and the production ramp of its latest model has progressed far more smoothly than for any of its previous vehicles. Demand for its products is strong and the response from its traditional competitors remains muted. It is still our largest holding even though we sold over 40% of our shares during the period (raising £1.18bn) to ensure that the portfolio has an appropriate level of diversification.

This picture of strong execution and greater clarity on the investment case is shared by a number of the portfolio's other significant winners. Wayfair, the furniture retailer, has benefited from a surge in demand as people have spent more time at home and invested in upgrading their living environment. Whilst this may be a temporary, Covid-related phenomenon, the company has also moved decisively into profitability after an extended investment phase. The long-term profitability of Wayfair's business model has been hotly debated and the demonstration of a clear ability to make money is much more important for the company's value than a temporary spike in demand.

Food delivery companies Meituan and Delivery Hero have also answered important questions about their future. The former has grown beyond its nearest rival to become the dominant food delivery company in China. The impact of Covid has been to drive up demand for its other delivery services such as grocery and general merchandise. The addressable market in meal delivery is many times larger than Meituan's business today and we now must also factor in the possibility of success in these other categories. Delivery Hero has restructured the geography of its business and now dominates many of the world's most attractive growth markets. Local scale is an important determinant of success and is also allowing Delivery Hero to expand from delivering meals into other delivery services.

The examples of Wayfair, Delivery Hero and Meituan serve to illustrate the growing number of opportunities we have to invest in digital businesses of scale beyond the giant western platforms. This becomes more important as our views on the platform companies are less differentiated than was once the case. In the period, we sold the remaining holding in Facebook and made the first reduction to our Amazon holding that was not driven by diversification concerns. Whilst we have huge respect for Amazon's vision and ability to execute, its starting capitalisation of over $1.5 trillion makes the path to large future returns more challenging.

The era of electrification that Tesla is helping to materialise will take decades to arrive and have far-reaching consequences. Technological progress is driving down costs along an exponential curve that the fossil fuel industry will be unable to match. It is challenging to predict the impact of such change on the complex system that is the global economy. We eschew prediction and prefer to partner with the entrepreneurs that are driving change. Encouragingly we are seeing more opportunities. Chinese electric vehicle producer, Nio, has endured difficult trading conditions since its IPO in late 2018 but its business is back on track and its balance sheet has been strengthened by continued investment from its founder and through local government support. In the period we invested in Northvolt, a company which will be critical to the creation of European battery manufacturing capacity. Its access to cheap hydroelectric power in Swedish Lapland should give it a cost advantage as the industry grows rapidly. We also made a commitment to ChargePoint, one of the world's largest electric vehicle-charging networks.

Outlook

A clear lesson from this year's events is that we should treat confident pronouncements about the future with scepticism. Rather than engage in such speculation, we prefer to back the companies building the future of our economy with the capital and patience they require. Such opportunities remain plentiful.

The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company are set out at the end of this document.

5 November 2020

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Total return information sourced from Refinitiv/StatPro/Baillie Gifford.

See disclaimer at end of this document.

Responsibility statement

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

a)  the condensed set of Financial Statements has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting';

b)  the Interim Management Report includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six months, their impact on the condensed set of Financial Statements and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year); and

c)  the Interim Financial Report includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.2.8R (disclosure of related party transactions and changes therein).

By order of the Board

Fiona McBain

Chair

5 November 2020

Income statement (unaudited)

	For the six months ended  30 September 2020			For the six months ended  30 September 2019
	Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000	Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Gains on investments	-	6,376,063	6,376,063	-	289,983	289,983
Currency gains/(losses)	-	6,895	6,895	-	(10,394)	(10,394)
Income from investments and interest receivable	10,659	-	10,659	18,860	-	18,860
Investment management fee (note 3)	-	(18,727)	(18,727)	-	(11,613)	(11,613)
Other administrative expenses	(3,279)	-	(3,279)	(1,926)	-	(1,926)
Net return before finance costs and taxation	7,380	6,364,231	6,371,611	16,934	267,976	284,910
Finance costs of borrowings	-	(15,764)	(15,764)	-	(15,741)	(15,741)
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation	7,380	6,348,467	6,355,847	16,934	252,235	269,169
Tax on ordinary activities	(387)	-	(387)	(622)	-	(622)
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	6,993	6,348,467	6,355,460	16,312	252,235	268,547
Net return per ordinary share (note 4)	0.48p	433.36p	433.84p	1.10p	17.01p	18.11p
Dividends proposed per ordinary share (note 5)	1.45p			1.39p

The accompanying notes on the following pages are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. The supplementary revenue and capital return columns are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

All revenue and capital items in this statement derive from continuing operations.

A Statement of Comprehensive Income is not required as all gains and losses of the Company have been reflected in the above statement.

Balance sheet (unaudited)

	At 30 September 2020 £'000	At 31 March 2020 (audited) £'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss (note 6)	15,436,406	9,079,650
Current assets
Debtors	769	48,420
Cash and cash equivalents	77,956	38,526
	78,725	86,946
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Bank loans (note 7)	(282,333)	(294,367)
Debenture stock (note 7)	-	(20,161)
Other creditors	(24,632)	(15,187)
	(306,965)	(329,715)
Net current liabilities	(228,240)	(242,769)
Total assets less current liabilities	15,208,166	8,836,881
Creditors
Amounts falling due after more than one year:
Loan notes (note 7)	(485,096)	(464,112)
Debenture stocks (note 7)	(127,999)	(128,135)
	(613,095)	(592,247)
	14,595,071	8,244,634
Capital and reserves
Share capital	74,239	74,239
Share premium account	822,934	764,521
Capital redemption reserve	19,094	19,094
Capital reserve	13,671,811	7,363,915
Revenue reserve	6,993	22,865
Shareholders' funds	14,595,071	8,244,634
Net asset value per ordinary share (after deducting borrowings at book)*	999.8p	567.3p
Ordinary shares in issue (note 9)	1,459,765,760	1,453,259,808

*  See Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.

The accompanying notes on the following pages are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

 

* 

Statement of Changes in Equity (unaudited)

For the six months ended 30 September 2020

	Called up share capital £'000	Share premium account £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Capital reserve* £'000	Revenue reserve £'000	Shareholders' funds £'000
Shareholders' funds at 1 April 2020	74,239	764,521	19,094	7,363,915	22,865	8,244,634
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	-	-	-	6,348,467	6,993	6,355,460
Shares bought back	-	-	-	(164,564)	-	(164,564)
Shares sold from treasury (note 9)	-	58,413	-	128,434	-	186,847
Dividends paid during the period (note 5)	-	-	-	(4,441)	(22,865)	(27,306)
Shareholders' funds at 30 September 2020	74,239	822,934	19,094	13,671,811	6,993	14,595,071

For the six months ended 30 September 2019

	Called up share capital £'000	Share premium account £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Capital reserve* £'000	Revenue reserve £'000	Shareholders' funds £'000
Shareholders' funds at 1 April 2019	73,713	710,569	19,094	6,602,885	23,669	7,429,930
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	-	-	-	252,235	16,312	268,547
Shares issued (note 9)	526	53,952	-	-	-	54,478
Dividends paid during the period (note 5)	-	-	-	(2,128)	(23,669)	(25,797)
Shareholders' funds at 30 September 2019	74,239	764,521	19,094	6,852,992	16,312	7,727,158

* The Capital Reserve balance at 30 September 2020 includes investment holding gains on fixed asset investments of £9,878,399,000 (30 September 2019 - gains of £4,129,108,000).

The accompanying notes on the following pages are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Cash flow statement (unaudited)

	Six months to  30 September 2020 £'000	Six months to  30 September 2019 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation	6,355,847	269,169
Gains on investments	(6,376,063)	(289,983)
Currency (gains)/losses	(6,895)	10,394
Finance costs of borrowings	15,764	15,741
Overseas withholding tax refunded	-	145
Overseas withholding tax incurred	(387)	(767)
Changes in debtors and creditors	10,634	(748)
Cash from operations	(1,100)	3,951
Interest paid	(16,477)	(16,053)
Net cash outflow from operating activities	(17,577)	(12,102)
Net cash inflow from investing activities	66,171	98,419
Equity dividends paid (note 5)	(27,306)	(25,797)
Shares bought back into treasury and stamp duty thereon	(164,534)	-
Shares sold from treasury	186,847	-
Shares issued	-	54,478
Bank loans repaid	(20,000)	-
Bank loans drawn down and loan notes issued (note 7)	19,972	-
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities	(5,021)	28,681
Increase in cash and cash equivalents	43,573	114,998
Exchange movements	(4,143)	5,688
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period	38,526	35,587
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period†	77,956	156,273

† Cash and cash equivalents represent cash at bank and short term money market deposits repayable on demand.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

Holding period of investments as at 30 September 2020

More than 5 years			2-5 years			Less than 2 years
Name	% of total assets		Name	% of total assets		Name	% of total assets
Tesla Inc	12.0		Meituan Dianping p	3.6		Zoom	1.6
Amazon.com 10	7.9		Delivery Hero	2.7		Wayfair	1.5
Alibaba Group p	6.1		NIO p	2.4		MercadoLibre	1.2
Tencent Holdings 10	5.5		NVIDIA	2.3		Stripe U	0.8
Illumina	4.4		Ant International U	1.8		Space Exploration   Technologies  U	0.8
ASML	3.9		Shopify	1.3
Kering 10	2.8		HelloFresh p	1.3		Carvana	0.7
Netflix	2.3		Tempus Labs Inc U	1.1		Northvolt U	0.7
Spotify Technology SA p	2.0		Ginkgo BioWorks U	1.0		KE Holdings	0.6
Zalando	1.9		Denali Therapeutics p	0.9		Snowflake p	0.6
Ferrari	1.8		TransferWise U	0.9		Ocado	0.5
Alphabet 10	1.1		Grail U	0.8		Bytedance U	0.4
You & Mr Jones U	1.1		Pinduoduo	0.8		Recursion Pharmaceuticals U	0.4
Inditex 10	1.0		Tanium U	0.6		Affirm U	0.4
Workday	0.9		Vir Biotechnology p	0.6		Jiangxiaobai U	0.3
Kinnevik	0.9		Anaplan p	0.6		Sana Biotechnology U	0.3
Intuitive Surgical 10	0.9		Zipline U	0.5		Epic Games U	0.3
Atlas Copco 10	0.8		Indigo Agriculture U	0.4		Away Inc (JRSK) U	0.2
Trip.com 10	0.6		CureVac p	0.4		Lilium U	0.2
Housing Development  Finance Corporation 10	0.5		Carbon U	0.4		Zymergen U	0.2
			HeartFlow U	0.3		Convoy U	0.2
JAND Inc (Warby  Parker)   U	0.3		The Production Board U	0.2		Aurora U	0.1
			AUTO1 U	0.2		Joby Aero U	0.1
Essence Healthcare U	0.3		Bolt Threads U	0.2		ARCH Ventures Fund X     Overage U	<0.1
Rocket Internet	0.3		Lyft p	0.2
Palantir Technologies p	0.3		Full Truck Alliance U	0.2		ARCH Ventures Fund X U	<0.1
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals	0.2		Clover Health U	0.2
			Uptake Technologies U	0.2
Thumbtack U	0.2		Slack Technologies p	0.1
Bluebird Bio Inc	0.2		ARCH Ventures Fund IX U	0.1
Innovation Works  Development Fund 10 U	0.1		Eventbrite p	0.1
			Rubius Therapeutics p	0.1
Airbnb U	0.1		KSQ Therapeutics U	0.1
ZocDoc U	0.1		Udacity U	0.1
WI Harper Fund VIII U	0.1		Orchard Therapeutics p	0.1
Sinovation Fund III U	0.1		UNITY Biotechnology p	0.1
WI Harper Fund VII U	<0.1		Intarcia Therapeutics U	-
Global AI Opportunities  Fund	<0.1
Total	60.7		Total	26.9		Total	12.1

^{U   Denotes unlisted (private company) security.}

^{p  Denotes listed security previously held in the portfolio as an unlisted (private company) security .}

^{10   Denotes security held for more than 10 years.}

^{Net liquid assets represent 0.3% of total assets. See Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.}

List of investments at 30 September 2020 (unaudited)

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance* %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Tesla Inc	Electric cars, autonomous driving  and solar energy	1,853,704	12.0	24.8	Significant reduction	790,650
Amazon.com	Online retailer and cloud  computing	1,218,015	7.9	6.8		849,809
Alibaba Group p	Online retailing and financial  services	943,313	6.1	2.8		595,818
Tencent Holdings	Internet services	844,726	5.5	2.5		596,292
Illumina	Biotechnology equipment	679,102	4.4	1.8		565,677
ASML	Lithography	598,446	3.9	1.8	Significant addition	347,067
Meituan Dianping p	Local services aggregator	558,908	3.6	3.9		225,547
Kering	Luxury goods producer and  retailer	433,966	2.8	0.5	Significant addition	286,032
Delivery Hero	Online food delivery service	412,131	2.7	1.8		278,012
NIO Inc p	Designs and manufactures  electric and autonomous vehicles	368,279	2.4	3.0		50,171
NVIDIA	Visual computing	362,062	2.3	2.0		184,024
Netflix	Subscription service for TV shows    and movies	358,977	2.3	1.2		281,127
Spotify Technology SA p	Online music streaming service	310,297	2.0	2.2		161,695
Zalando	International online clothing retailer	295,998	1.9	1.6	Significant addition	87,796
Ant International   Limited Class C Ord. U	Online financial services platform	286,449	1.8	0.8		209,168
Ferrari	Luxury automobiles	284,611	1.8	0.4		250,807
Zoom	Remote conferencing service    provider	254,319	1.6	1.6		82,451
Wayfair	Online household goods retailer	235,897	1.5	2.8		45,049
Shopify	Cloud-based commerce platform  provider	206,039	1.3	1.8		87,895
HelloFresh p	Grocery retailer	202,382	1.3	0.9		125,253
MercadoLibre	Latin American e-commerce  platform	190,729	1.2	0.9	Significant addition	56,182

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000		% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance * %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Tempus Labs Inc   Series E Pref. U	Offers molecular diagnostics  tests for cancer and   aggregates clinical oncology   records	123,585		0.8	0.2		95,821
Tempus Labs Inc   Series F Pref. U	Offers molecular diagnostics  tests for cancer and   aggregates clinical oncology   records	45,111		0.3	0.1		34,976
Tempus Labs Inc   Series G Pref. U	Offers molecular diagnostics  tests for cancer and   aggregates clinical oncology  records	7,281		<0.1	-		5,645
		175,977		1.1	0.3		136,442
Alphabet	Holding company for Google and  associated ventures	166,694		1.1	0.5		137,517
You & Mr Jones Class   A Units U	Digital advertising	124,149		0.8	0.3		100,004
You & Mr Jones Class  C Units U	Digital advertising	38,644		0.3	0.1		30,296
		162,793		1.1	0.4		130,300
Ginkgo Bioworks Inc  Series D Pref. U	Bio-engineering company	73,050		0.5	-		76,164
Ginkgo Bioworks Inc  Series C Pref. U	Bio-engineering company		71,036	0.4	-		74,064
Ginkgo Bioworks Inc  Series E Pref. U	Bio-engineering company		18,469	0.1	-	Significant addition	12,804
			162,555	1.0	-		163,032
Inditex	Global clothing retailer		155,004	1.0	0.1		149,757
Workday	Enterprise information  technology		139,970	0.9	0.7		88,318
Denali Therapeutics p	Biotechnology		139,262	0.9	0.7	Significant addition	52,834
Transferwise Ltd  Series D Pref. U	Online money transfer services		64,901	0.4	0.1		47,633
Transferwise Ltd  Series Ord. U	Online money transfer services		30,866	0.2	0.1		20,247
Transferwise Ltd  Series A Pref. U	Online money transfer services		15,844	0.1	-		11,078
Transferwise Ltd  Series B Pref. U	Online money transfer services		13,770	0.1	-		10,076

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance * %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Transferwise Ltd  Series E Pref. U	Online money transfer services	7,849	0.1	-		5,761
Transferwise Ltd  Series Seed Pref. U	Online money transfer services	4,110	<0.1	-		2,696
Transferwise Ltd  Series C Pref. U	Online money transfer services	606	<0.1	-		424
		137,946	0.9	0.2		97,915
Kinnevik	Investment company	134,271	0.9	0.9		56,880
Intuitive Surgical	Surgical robots	133,928	0.9	0.4		97,625
Atlas Copco	Engineering	129,303	0.8	0.4		94,603
Grail Inc Series B  Pref. U	Clinical stage biotechnology  company	127,938	0.8	0.4		77,077
Stripe Inc Series G  Pref. U	Online payment platform	124,465	0.8	0.5	Significant addition	29,597
Space Exploration  Technologies Corp  Series J Pref. U	Designs, manufactures and  launches rockets and  spacecraft	67,371	0.5	0.1		57,234
Space Exploration  Technologies Corp  Series N Pref. U	Designs, manufactures and  launches rockets and  spacecraft	54,146	0.3	-	New purchase	-
		121,517	0.8	0.1		57,234
Pinduoduo Inc	Chinese e-commerce	119,721	0.8	1.1		60,602
Carvana	Online platform for buying used   cars	110,248	0.7	0.3	New purchase	-
NorthVolt AB  Preference E1 U	Battery developer and   manufacturer, specialised in   lithium-ion technology for electric   vehicles	104,038	0.7	-	New purchase	-
Tanium Inc Class B Common U	Provides security and systems   management solutions	100,565	0.6	0.2	Significant addition	46,629
Trip.com	Travel agent	99,248	0.6	0.2		78,099
Vir Biotechnology Inc p	Biotechnology company   developing anti-infective   therapies	97,754	0.6	-		95,187
Anaplan Inc Common p	Enterprise planning software	90,585	0.6	0.6		45,661
KE Holdings	Chinese real estate platform	88,890	0.6	0.4	New purchase	-
Snowflake Inc Class B   Common p	Developer of a SaaS-based cloud   data warehousing platform	53,253	0.4	0.3		8,584
Snowflake Inc Class A  Common p	Developer of a SaaS-based cloud   data warehousing platform	34,053	0.2	0.1	New purchase	-
		87,306	0.6	0.4		8,584

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance * %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Ocado	Online grocery retailer and   technology provider	82,820	0.5	0.1	New purchase	-
Housing Development   Finance Corporation	Indian mortgage provider	77,448	0.5	0.1		73,911
Zipline International Inc   Series D Pref. U	Logistics company that designs,  manufactures and operates   drones to deliver medical   supplies	38,380	0.3	0.1		28,204
Zipline International Inc   Series C Pref. U	Logistics company that designs,    manufactures and operates    drones to deliver medical     supplies	32,775	0.2	0.1		20,258
		71,155	0.5	0.2		48,462
Indigo Agriculture Inc   Series D Pref. U	Analyses plant microbiomes to   increase crop yields	30,180	0.2	(0.1)		37,834
Indigo Agriculture Inc    Series E Pref. U	Analyses plant microbiomes to   increase crop yields	17,782	0.1	-		19,531
Indigo Agriculture Inc    Series F Pref. U	Analyses plant microbiomes to   increase crop yields	16,939	0.1	-	Sub promissory note conversion and significant addition	10,126
Indigo Agriculture Inc   Common U	Analyses plant microbiomes to   increase crop yields	3,390	<0.1	-	Significant addition	2,120
		68,291	0.4	(0.1)		69,611
Bytedance Ltd Series   E Pref. U	Social media	67,750	0.4	0.1		60,486
CureVac p	Biotechnology	63,759	0.4	0.4	Significant addition	12,680
Carbon Inc Series D  Pref. U	Manufactures and develops  3D printers	37,631	0.2	0.1		28,031
Carbon Inc Series E  Pref. U	Manufactures and develops  3D printers	23,542	0.2	0.1		19,394
		61,173	0.4	0.2		47,425

Name	Business		Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets		Contribution to absolute performance * %		Notes †		Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Recursion  Pharmaceuticals Inc  Series C Pref.U	Uses image  recognition/machine  learning and automation to  improve drug discovery		39,902	0.3		-				37,136
Recursion  Pharmaceuticals Inc  Series D Pref. U	Uses image  recognition/machine  learning and automation to  improve drug discovery		19,338	0.1		-		New purchase		-
			59,240	0.4		-				37,136
Affirm Inc Series F  Pref. U	Online platform which  provides lending and  consumer credit services		33,328	0.2		0.1				22,979
Affirm Inc Series G  Pref. U	Online platform which  provides lending and  consumer credit services		14,697	0.1		-		New purchase		-
Affirm Inc Series G-1  Pref. U	Online platform which  provides lending and  consumer credit services		9,134	0.1		-		New purchase		-
			57,159	0.4		0.1				22,979
JAND Inc (Warby  Parker) Series D  Pref. U	Online and physical glasses  retailer		27,526	0.2		-				23,631
JAND Inc (Warby  Parker) Series A  Common U	Online and physical glasses  retailer		17,750	0.1		-				15,239
JAND Inc (Warby  Parker) Series E  Pref. U	Online and physical glasses  retailer		6,690	<0.1		-				5,744
			51,966	0.3		-				44,614
Essence Healthcare  Series 3 Pref. U	Cloud-based health provider		50,873	0.3		0.1				45,391
Jiangxiaobai Holdings  Ltd Series C Pref. U	Producer of alcoholic  beverages		48,699	0.3		-		New purchase		-
Rocket Internet	Internet start-up factory		47,483	0.3		-				45,777
Sana Biotechnology  Inc Series B Pref. U	Biotechnology company  creating and delivering  engineered cells as medicine		32,230	0.2		-		New purchase		-
Sana Biotechnology  Inc Series A-2   Pref. U	Biotechnology company  creating and delivering  engineered cells as medicine		12,371	0.1		-				8,011
			44,601	0.3		-				8,011

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance * %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Palantir  Technologies p	Data integration software and  service provider	41,199	0.3	0.1		26,535
Heartflow Inc Series  E Pref. U	Develops software  for cardiovascular disease  diagnosis and treatment	39,774	0.3	-		38,009
Epic Games Inc U	Gaming platform	38,675	0.3	-	New purchase	-
Alnylam  Pharmaceuticals	Biotechnology	36,780	0.2	0.2		28,682
The Production  Board Series A-2  Pref. U	Holding company for food  technology companies	35,891	0.2	-		36,130
AUTO1 Group GmbH  Series E Pref. U	Online retailer of used cars	35,429	0.2	0.1		22,277
Thumbtack Inc  Series G Pref. U	Online directory service for local  businesses	28,995	0.2	-		30,942
Thumbtack Inc  Series H Pref. U	Online directory service for local  businesses	5,799	<0.1	-		6,188
		34,794	0.2	-		37,130
Bolt Threads Inc  Series D Pref. U	Natural fibres and fabrics  manufacturer	26,247	0.2	-		24,181
Bolt Threads Inc  Convertible  Promissory Note p	Natural fibres and fabrics  manufacturer	7,672	<0.1	-		7,236
		33,919	0.2	-		31,417
Lyft Inc p	Ridesharing services	32,904	0.2	0.1		33,372
Full Truck Alliance  Ltd Series A-15  Pref. U	Freight-truck matching platform	32,844	0.2	-		28,976
JRSK Inc (Away)  Series D Pref. U	Manufactures luggage	16,348	0.1	(0.1)		21,388
JRSK Inc (Away)  Convertible  Promissory Note U	Manufactures luggage	8,509	0.1	-	New purchase	-
JRSK Inc (Away)  Series Seed Pref. U	Manufactures luggage	7,782	<0.1	(0.1)		14,804
		32,639	0.2	(0.2)		36,192

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	%  of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance * %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
Clover Health  Investments Series  D Pref. U	Healthcare insurance provider	31,632	0.2	0.1		25,499
Lilium GmbH Series  B-2 U	On demand air transportation	29,217	0.2	-	New purchase	-
Bluebird Bio Inc	Provider of biotechnological   products and services	29,003	0.2	0.1		25,755
Zymergen Inc U	Developer of molecular technology	27,073	0.2	-	New purchase	-
Uptake Technologies  Inc Series D Pref. U	Designs and develops  enterprise software	24,127	0.2	-		26,375
Convoy Inc Series D  Pref. U	Marketplace for truckers and  shippers	22,571	0.2	-		22,408
Innovation Works  Development Fund  U	Venture capital fund	20,298	0.1	-		19,329
Slack Technologies  Inc p	Enterprise messaging platform	19,197	0.1	-		20,030
ARCH Ventures Fund  IX U	Venture capital fund to invest in  biotech start-ups	19,173	0.1	0.1		14,028
Airbnb Inc Series E  Pref. U	Online market place for travel  accommodation	18,572	0.1	-		20,625
Zocdoc Inc Series D  2 Pref. U	Online platform for searching for  doctors and booking  appointments	17,229	0.1	-		16,862
Aurora Innovation Inc  Series B Pref. U	Developer of driverless vehicle  technology	16,156	0.1	(0.1)		20,161
Eventbrite Inc p	Online ticketing service	13,671	0.1	0.1		9,599
Rubius Therapeutics  Inc p	Biotechnology	13,275	0.1	-		12,156
Joby Aero Inc Series  C Pref. U	Electric aircraft	11,603	0.1	-		10,704
KSQ Therapeutics  Inc Series C Pref. U	Biotechnology company	9,626	0.1	(0.1)		17,887
Udacity Inc Series D  Pref. U	Online education	9,390	0.1	-		9,774
Orchard  Therapeutics p	Gene therapy for rare diseases	8,711	0.1	-		16,551
Unity  Biotechnology p	Clinical stage biotechnology  company	8,602	0.1	-		14,878

Name	Business	Fair value 30 September 2020 £'000	% of total assets	Contribution to absolute performance* %	Notes †	Fair value 31 March 2020 £'000
WI Harper Fund VIII U	Venture capital fund	8,183	0.1	-		7,540
Sinovation Fund III U	Venture capital fund	7,282	0.1	-		7,694
WI Harper Fund VII U	Venture capital fund	6,423	<0.1	-		5,515
Global AI  Opportunities Fund	Artificial intelligence based  algorithmic trading	4,525	<0.1	-		4,358
ARCH Ventures Fund  X Overage U	Venture capital fund to invest in  biotech start-ups	2,744	<0.1	-	Additional investment	813
ARCH Ventures Fund  X U	Venture capital fund to invest in  biotech start-ups	2,530	<0.1	-	Additional investment	845
Intarcia Therapeutics  Inc Series EE Pref. U‡	Implantable drug delivery  system	-	-	-		2,671
Intarcia Therapeutics   Inc Convertible  Bond U‡	Implantable drug delivery  system	-	-	(0.1)		3,370
Intarcia Therapeutics  Inc Common U‡	Implantable drug delivery  system	-	-	-		62
		-	-	(0.1)		6,103
Total Investments		15,436,406	99.7
Net Liquid Assets#		54,093	0.3
Total Assets#		15,490,499	100.0

^{*  Contribution to absolute performance has been calculated on a total return basis over the period 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020. For a definition of total return please see the Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.}

† Significant additions and reductions to investments have been noted where the change is at least a 20% movement from the value of the holding at 31 March 2020. The change in value over the period also reflects the share price performance and the movement in exchange rates.

# See Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures at the end of this announcement.

^{‡ The Intarcia Therapeutics holdings are valued at nil at 30 September 2020.}

^{U   Denotes unlisted (private company) security.}  

^{p   Denotes listed security previously held in the portfolio as an unlisted (private c ompany) security.}

The investment in Facebook was sold during the period.

Source: Baillie Gifford/StatPro. See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Distribution of assets* (unaudited)

			At 30 September 2020 %	At 31 March 2020 %
North America			53.4	54.9
	United States		52.1	53.9
	Canada		1.3	1.0
Europe			22.4	22.5
	United Kingdom		1.5	1.7
	Eurozone		16.5	17.4
	Developed Europe (non Euro)		4.4	3.4
South America			1.2	0.6
	Brazil		1.2	0.6
Asia			23.0	22.0
	China		22.5	21.2
	India		0.5	0.8
Total assets (before deduction of loans, loan notes and debentures)			100.0	100.0

Sectoral Analysis

		At 30 September 2020 %	At 31 March 2020 %
Consumer Services		39.8	41.4
Consumer Goods		19.4	13.7
Technology		19.1	19.9
Healthcare		11.6	14.4
Financials		6.6	6.6
Industrials		2.9	3.1
Basic Materials		0.2	-
Overseas Bonds		0.1	0.1
Net Liquid Assets		0.3	0.8
Total assets (before deduction of loans, loan notes and debentures)		100.0	100.0

	Listed Equities %	Unlisted Securities† %	Unlisted Bonds %	Net Liquid Assets %	Total %
30 September 2020	82.6	17.0	0.1	0.3	100.0
31 March 2020	79.1	19.9	0.2	0.8	100.0

Private Company Investing

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4479E_1-2020-11-5.pdf

Notes to the condensed financial statements (unaudited)

1.	The condensed Financial Statements for the six months to 30 September 2020 comprise the statements set out in the previous pages together with the related notes below. They have been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting' and the AIC's Statement of Recommended Practice issued in November 2014 and updated in October 2019 with consequential amendments. They have not been audited or reviewed by the Auditor pursuant to the Auditing Practices Board Guidance on 'Review of Interim Financial Information'. The Financial Statements for the six months to 30 September 2020 have been prepared on the basis of the same accounting policies as set out in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements at 31 March 2020.
	Going Concern The Directors have considered the nature of the Company's assets, its liabilities, projected income and expenditure together with its investment objective and policy, dividend policy and principal risks and uncertainties, as set out at the end of this document. The Board has, in particular, considered the impact of heightened market volatility since the coronavirus outbreak but does not believe the Company's going concern status is affected. The Company's assets, the majority of which are in quoted securities which are readily realisable, exceed its liabilities significantly. All borrowings require the prior approval of the Board. Gearing levels and compliance with borrowing covenants are reviewed by the Board on a regular basis. The Company has continued to comply with the investment trust status requirements of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and the Investment Trust (Approved Company) Regulations 2011. Accordingly, the Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these Financial Statements and confirm that they are not aware of any material uncertainties which may affect the Company's ability to continue in operational existence for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these Financial Statements.
2.	The financial information contained within this Interim Financial Report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in sections 424 to 436 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2020 has been extracted from the statutory accounts which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The Auditor Report on those accounts was not qualified, did not include a reference to any matter to which the Auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying its report and did not contain statements under sections 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
3.	Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baillie Gifford & Co, has been appointed by the Company as its Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) and Company Secretary. The investment management function has been delegated to Baillie Gifford & Co. The management agreement can be terminated on six months' notice. The annual management fee is 0.30% on the first £4 billion of total assets less current liabilities (excluding short term borrowings for investment purposes) and 0.25% thereafter, calculated and payable quarterly.
4.	Net return per ordinary share	Six months to  30 September 2020 £'000	Six months to 30 September 2019 £'000
	Revenue return on ordinary activities after taxation	6,993	16,312
	Capital return on ordinary activities after taxation	6,348,467	252,235
	Total net return	6,355,460	268,547
	Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue	1,464,928,674	1,482,684,432
	Net return per ordinary share figures are based on the above totals of revenue and capital and the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during each period. There are no dilutive or potentially dilutive shares in issue.

Notes to the condensed financial statements (unaudited) (ctd)

5.	Dividends			Six months to  30 September 2020 £'000		Six months to 30 September 2019 £'000
	Amounts recognised as distributions in the period:
	Previous year's final dividend of 1.86p (2019 - 1.74p), paid 1 July 2020			27,306		25,797
				27,306		25,797
	Dividends proposed in the period:
	Interim dividend for the year ending 31 March 2021 of 1.45p (2020 - 1.39p)			21,167		20,638
				21,167		20,638
	The interim dividend was declared after the period end date and has therefore not been included as a liability in the Balance Sheet. It is payable on 4 December 2020 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 20 November 2020.  The ex-dividend date is 19 November 2020. The Company's Registrars offer a Dividend Reinvestment Plan and the final date for elections for this dividend is 23 November 2020.
6.	Fair Value The fair value hierarchy used to analyse the basis on which the fair values of financial instruments held at fair value through the profit and loss account are measured is described below. Fair value measurements are categorised on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Level 1 - using unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in an active market; Level 2 - using inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, that are directly or indirectly observable (based on   market data); and Level 3 - using inputs that are unobservable (for which market data is unavailable). The Company's investments are financial assets designated at fair value through profit or loss. An analysis of the Company's financial asset investments based on the fair value hierarchy described above is shown below.
	Investments held at fair value through profit or loss
	As at 30 September 2020	Level 1 £'000	Level 2 £'000		Level 3 £'000		Total £'000
	Equities/funds	12,783,463	-		-		12,783,463
	Unlisted ordinary shares	-	-		439,020		439,020
	Unlisted preference shares	-	-		2,197,743		2,197,473
	Unlisted convertible note	-	-		16,180		16,180
	Total financial asset investments	12,783,463	-		2,652,943		15,436,406
	As at 31 March 2020 (audited)	Level 1 £'000	Level 2 £'000		Level 3 £'000		Total £'000
	Equities/funds	7,238,048	-		-		7,238,048
	Unlisted ordinary shares	-	-		302,049		302,049
	Unlisted preference shares	-	-		1,518,821		1,518,821
	Unlisted convertible notes	-	-		20,732		20,732
	Total financial asset investments	7,238,048	-		1,841,602		9,079,650

Notes to the condensed financial statements (unaudited) (ctd)

	During the period, investments with a book cost of £59,323,000 were transferred from Level 3 to Level 1 on becoming listed. The fair value of listed investments is bid value or, in the case of holdings on certain recognised overseas exchanges, last traded price. Listed Investments are categorised as Level 1 if they are valued using unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in an active market and as Level 2 if they do not meet all these criteria but are, nonetheless, valued using market data.
	Unlisted Investments The Company's holdings in unlisted investments are categorised as Level 3. Unlisted investments are valued at fair value by the Directors following a detailed review and appropriate challenge of the valuations proposed by the Managers. The Managers' unlisted investment policy applies techniques consistent with the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines 2018 ('IPEV'). The techniques applied are predominantly market-based approaches. The market-based approaches available under IPEV are set out below and are followed by an explanation of how they are applied in the Company's unlisted portfolio: -  Multiples; -  Industry Valuation Benchmarks; and -  Available Market Prices. The nature of the unlisted portfolio will influence the valuation technique applied. The valuation approach recognises that, as stated in the IPEV Guidelines, the price of a recent investment, if resulting from an orderly transaction, generally represents fair value as at the transaction date and may be an appropriate starting point for estimating fair value at subsequent measurement dates. However, consideration is given to the facts and circumstances as at the subsequent measurement date, including changes in the market or performance of the investee company. Milestone analysis is used where appropriate to incorporate the operational progress of the investee company into the valuation. Additionally, the background to the transaction must be considered. As a result, various multiples-based techniques are employed to assess the valuations particularly in those companies with established revenues. Discounted cashflows are used where appropriate. An absence of relevant industry peers may preclude the application of the Industry Valuation Benchmarks technique and an absence of observable prices may preclude the Available Market Prices approach. All valuations are cross-checked for reasonableness by employing relevant alternative techniques. The unlisted investments are valued according to a three monthly cycle of measurement dates. The fair value of the unlisted investments will be reviewed before the next scheduled three monthly measurement date on the following occasions: -  At the year end and half year end of the Company; and -  Where there is an indication of a change in fair value as defined in the IPEV guidelines (commonly referred to as 'trigger' events).
7.	The total value of the borrowings (at book) is £895,428,000 (31 March 2020 - £906,775,000). The bank loans falling due within one year are a US$200 million revolving 3 year loan with National Australia Bank Limited ('NAB'), a US$80 million revolving 3 year loan with The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited ('RBS') and a US$85 million revolving 2 year loan with RBS (31 March 2020 - US$200 million revolving 2 year loan with NAB, a US$80 million revolving 3 year loan with RBS and a US$85 million revolving 2 year loan with RBS). During the period, further to an arrangement made in 2017, a £20 million 3.65% unsecured loan note maturing in 2044 was issued to finance the redemption of the £20 million 8-14% stepped interest debenture that matured on 30 September 2020. On 21 April 2020, the US$200 million 2 year revolving credit facility with NAB was refinanced with at US£200 million 3 year revolving credit facility with NAB. There were no bank loans falling due in more than one year (31 March 2020 - none).
8.	The fair value of the borrowings at 30 September 2020 was £1,009,936,000 (31 March 2020 - £930,473,000).

Notes to the condensed financial statements (unaudited) (ctd)

9.		At  30 September 2020 Number of shares	At 31 March 2020 (audited) Number of shares
	Share capital: Ordinary shares of 5p each
	Allotted, called up and fully paid	1,459,765,760	1,453,259,808
	In the six months to 30 September 2020, the Company sold 24,175,000 ordinary shares from treasury with a nominal value of £1,209,000 at a premium to net asset value raising net proceeds of £186,847,000 (year to 31 March 2020 - issued 10,525,000 ordinary shares, with a nominal value of £526,000, at a premium to net asset value, raising net proceeds of £54,478,000). In the six months to 30 September 2020, 17,669,048 ordinary shares with a nominal value of £883,000 were bought back at a total cost of £164,564,000 and held in treasury (year to 31 March 2020 - 31,521,072 shares with a nominal value of £1,576,000 were bought back at a total cost of £166,738,000 and held in treasury). At 30 September 2020 the Company had authority remaining to buy back 201,214,437 ordinary shares.
10.	Transaction costs on acquisitions within the portfolio amounted to 1,364,000 (30 September 2019 -nil) and transaction costs on sales amounted to £88,000 (30 September 2019 - £133,000). These costs are included in the book cost of acquisitions and in the net proceeds of disposals.
11.	Subsequent Events Unlisted Investments On 26 October the fair valuation of Ant International Limited was increased to £353,139,000 (an increase of £66,690,000 from the fair valuation at 30 September 2020) following the announcement of the opening listing price for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
12.	Related Party Transactions There have been no transactions with related parties during the first six months of the current financial year that have materially affected the financial position or the performance of the Company during that period and there have been no changes in the related party transactions described in the last Annual Report and Financial Statements that could have had such an effect on the Company during that period.

Glossary of Terms and Alternative Performance Measures (APM) Total Assets Total assets less current liabilities, before deduction of all borrowings. Net Asset Value Also described as shareholders' funds. Net Asset Value (NAV) is the value of total assets less liabilities (including borrowings). Net Asset Value is calculated on the basis of borrowings stated at book value or fair value. An explanation of each is provided below. The NAV per share is calculated by dividing this amount by the number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares). Net Asset Value (Borrowings at Book)/Shareholders' Funds Borrowings are valued at adjusted net issue proceeds. The value of the borrowings at book is set out in note 7 above. Net Asset Value (Borrowings at Fair Value) (APM) Borrowings are valued at an estimate of their market worth. The value of the borrowings at fair is set out in note 8 above and a reconciliation to Net Asset Value with borrowings at book value is provided below.
	30 September 2020	31 March 2020
Net Asset Value per ordinary share (borrowings at book value)	999.8p	567.3p
Shareholders' funds (borrowings at book value)	£14,595,071k	£8,244,634k
Add:  book value of borrowings	£895,428k	£906,775k
Less: fair value of borrowings	(£1,009,936k)	(£930,473k)
Net Asset Value (borrowings at fair value)	£14,480,563k	£8,220,936k
Shares in issue at year end (excluding treasury shares)	1,459,765,760	1,453,259,808
Net Asset Value per ordinary share (borrowings at fair value)	992.0p	565.7p
Net Liquid Assets Net liquid assets comprise current assets less current liabilities (excluding borrowings). Discount/Premium (APM) As stockmarkets and share prices vary, an investment trust's share price is rarely the same as its NAV. When the share price is lower than the NAV per share it is said to be trading at a discount. The size of the discount is calculated by subtracting the share price from the NAV per share and is usually expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share. If the share price is higher than the NAV per share, it is said to be trading at a premium. Gearing (APM) At its simplest, gearing is borrowing. Just like any other public company, an investment trust can borrow money to invest in additional investments for its portfolio. The effect of the borrowing on the shareholders' assets is called 'gearing'. If the Company's assets grow, the shareholders' assets grow proportionately more because the debt remains the same, but if the value of the Company's assets falls, the situation is reversed. Gearing can therefore enhance performance in rising markets but can adversely impact performance in falling markets. Gearing represents borrowings at book value less cash and cash equivalents (including any outstanding trade settlements) expressed as a percentage of shareholders' funds. Turnover (APM) Annual turnover is calculated by dividing the lower of purchases and sales by the average of opening and closing total assets. Active Share (APM) Active share, a measure of how actively a portfolio is managed, is the percentage of the portfolio that differs from its comparative index. It is calculated by deducting from 100 the percentage of the portfolio that overlaps with the comparative index. An active share of 100 indicates no overlap with the index and an active share of zero indicates a portfolio that tracks the index. Total Return (APM) The total return is the return to shareholders after reinvesting the net dividend on the date that the share price goes ex-dividend.

		30 September 2020			30 September 2019
		NAV (book)	NAV (fair)	Share price	NAV (book)	NAV (fair)	Share price
Closing NAV per share/share price	(a)	999.8p	992.0p	991.0p	520.4p	515.1p	503.5p
Dividend adjustment factor *	(b)	1.0026	1.0025	1.0023	1.0033	1.0033	1.0036
Adjusted closing NAV per share/share price	(c = a x b)	1002.4p	994.5p	993.3p	522.1p	516.8p	505.3p
Opening NAV per share/share price	(d)	567.3p	565.7p	573.5p	504.0p	500.8p	512.0p
Total return	(c ÷ d) - 1	76.7%	75.8%	73.2%	3.6%	3.2%	(1.3%)

*  The dividend adjustment factor is calculated on the assumption that the final dividend of 1.86p (2019 - 1.74p) paid by the Company during the period was reinvested into shares of the Company at the cum income NAV per share/share price, as appropriate, at the ex-dividend date.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties The principal risks facing the Company are financial risk, unlisted investments risk, investment strategy risk, discount risk, regulatory risk, custody and depositary risk, operational risk, leverage risk and political risk. An explanation of these risks and how they are managed is set out on pages 9 and 10 of the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31 March 2020 which is available on the Company's website: www.scottishmortgageit.com.‡ The principal risks and uncertainties have not changed since the date of that report with the exception of the ongoing situation regarding Covid-19.

The Board and Managers continue to review the portfolio for the potential impact of the pandemic. The business continuity arrangements of the Managers and other third party service providers have proven robust with operations continuing largely as normal.

Shareholders will be notified on or around 20 November 2020 that the Interim Financial Report has been published and will be available on the Scottish Mortgage page of the Managers' website www.scottishmortgageit.com . ^‡

None of the views expressed in this document should be construed as advice to buy or sell a particular investment.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC is an actively managed, low cost investment trust, investing in a concentrated global portfolio of companies with the aim of maximising its total return over the long term. It looks for strong businesses with above-average returns and aims to achieve a greater return than the FTSE All-World Index (in sterling terms) over a five year rolling period.

You can find up to date performance information about Scottish Mortgage on the Scottish Mortgage page of the Managers' website at www.scottishmortgageit.com‡

‡ Neither the contents of the Managers' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Managers' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

Scottish Mortgage is managed by Baillie Gifford & Co, the Edinburgh based fund management group with over £296 billion under management and advice in active equity and bond portfolios for clients in the UK and throughout the world (as at 5 November 2020).

Investment Trusts are UK public limited companies and are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.  The value of an investment and any income from it is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount invested. This is because the share price is determined by the changing conditions in the relevant stock markets in which the Company invests and by the supply and demand for the Company's shares.

5 November 2020

For further information please contact:

Stewart Heggie, Baillie Gifford & Co

Tel: [phone]

Mark Knight, Director, Four Communications

Tel: [phone] or 07803 758810

Automatic Exchange of Information

In order to fulfil its obligations under UK tax legislation relating to the automatic exchange of information, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC is required to collect and report certain information about certain shareholders.

The legislation requires investment trust companies to provide personal information to HMRC on certain investors who purchase shares in investment trusts. Accordingly, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC will have to provide information annually to the local tax authority on the tax residencies of a number of non-UK based certificated shareholders and corporate entities. Shareholders, excluding those whose shares are held in CREST, who come on to the share register will be sent a certification form for the purposes of collecting this information.

For further information, please see HMRC's Quick Guide: Automatic Exchange of Information - information for account holders https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exchange-of-information-account-holders.

Third party data provider disclaimer

No third party data provider ('Provider') makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the data contained herewith nor as to the results to be obtained by recipients of the data. No Provider shall in any way be liable to any recipient of the data for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the index data included in this document, regardless of cause, or for any damages (whether direct or indirect) resulting therefrom.

No Provider has any obligation to update, modify or amend the data or to otherwise notify a recipient thereof in the event that any matter stated herein changes or subsequently becomes inaccurate.

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FTSE Index data

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