Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Share Price
As the graph below demonstrates, it has been an interesting year so far for the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust share price. After being relatively untroubled during the pandemic, and even seeing its growth soar through 2020, it finally faced some bumps in the road in 2021. With the tech sell-off, James Anderson stepping down and the company dipping its toes into the world of cryptocurrencies, now could well be a pivotal moment in the outlook of the fund.
US Tech Stocks
A cause of Scottish Mortgage’s dips through 2021 has been the downturn of a number of its US tech stocks. Ironically, it was by selecting such stocks that has seen the company make outstanding gains in the past.
The Nasdaq, which features a number of major US tech stocks, has seen a sharp fall over the past month, now down to 13,254. In repose, Scottish mortgage confirmed yesterday that it that it sold 80% of its Tesla holding over the past 12 months. The trust also sold its shares in Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet, as well as cutting its stake in Amazon.
The question now is where its growth will come from, as markets appear to be concluding that valuations are out of touch with earnings. One are of focus for the trust could be cryptocurrencies.
Crypto
Investors seeking to gain exposure will be intrigued by Scottish Mortgage’s foray into the world of crypto. In its first investment into the industry, the FTSE 100 company invested £72m into Blockchain.com, the largest cryptocurrency company in the UK.
It is worth noting that Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s assets under management are valued at £18bn, and so its exposure is limited at this point.
However, it still highlights the emergence of the crypto space, as well as Sottish Mortgage’s willingness to invest.