Scottish Mortgage is a low cost investment trust that aims to maximise total returns from a focused and actively managed portfolio of equities.  It invests globally, looking for strong businesses with above-average returns. 

Investment trusts are grouped into sectors. The classification of each trust is based on a combination of the regional or industry focus of the portfolio and the trust's investment objective. The Association of Investment Companies ('AIC') classifies investment trusts into 43 different sectors (including property). There are guidelines for inclusion in each sector. The sector classification system provides a useful way of grouping trusts to allow for comparison, but it is important to remember that no two trusts are the same.

The AIC Investment Sector for this trust is Global Growth. The objective of Investment Trust Companies in this sector is to produce a total return to shareholders from capital and some dividend income. They also have less than 80% of their assets in any one geographical area with at least 20% in UK-registered companies.

James graduated BA in Modern History from Oxford University and MA in International Affairs. After postgraduate study in Italy and Canada he joined Baillie Gifford in 1983. He became a Partner in 1987 and headed our European Investment Team until July 2003 when he became Deputy CIO and Head of our Global Equity Products Team. James is a member of the Investment Policy Committee and became Chief Investment Officer in 2006.