Scottish Mortgage's Slater: Why investing privately opens the best doors

Private investments now 10% of portfolio

Alice Rigby
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Baillie Gifford's Tom Slater has said investing in privately-owned companies is becoming an increasingly important part of his £3.5bn Scottish Mortgage trust.

Slater (pictured) said the trust's exposure to private companies has climbed to 10%, and he intends to continue pursuing opportunities in this area. "Investing privately opens doors to companies that we are fortunate to speak to," he said. "Those positions have now gone up to 10% of the trust. The direction of travel is clear." He added the 'pre-IPO' label is not constructive, as the number of companies coming onto public markets suggests those opportunities are limited. "People may consider these positions as pre-IPO financing, but what is interesting is the dearth of IPOs we see....

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