1. The Scottish American Investment Company

    The Scottish American Investment Company

  2. Overview

    Aims to be a core investment for private investors seeking income. Its objective is to grow the dividend at a faster rate than inflation by increasing capital and growing income. The focus of the portfolio is on global equities but investments are also made in bonds, property and other asset types.

    Baillie Gifford's culture of sharing information and encouraging debate is central to the SAINTS' investment process.

    Performance & Portfolio

    Periodic Performance

    All figures to 29/02/2024

    1 Year

    3 Years

    5 Years

    10 Years

    Share Price 0.1%21.2%56.4%182.4%
    NAV 10.5%38.2%78.7%219.1%
    Benchmark* 18.3%36.5%77.3%211.6%

    Performance figures appear in GBP. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.

    NAV is calculated with borrowings deducted at fair value for 1, 3 and 5 years and book value for 10 years.

    *FTSE All World Index (GBP) TR.

    Performance source: Morningstar and relevant underlying index provider, total return.

    Past performance is not a guide to future performance.


    Discrete Performance

    Annual Performance to 31 December each year

    31/12/2018
    31/12/2019

    31/12/2019
    31/12/2020

    31/12/2020
    31/12/2021

    31/12/2021
    31/12/2022

    31/12/2022
    31/12/2023

    Share Price 25.1%12.0%19.5%-3.5%8.2%
    NAV 23.0%14.6%21.5%-3.6%11.8%
    Benchmark* 22.3%13.0%20.0%-7.3%15.7%

    Performance figures appear in GBP. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.

    NAV is calculated with borrowings deducted at fair value for 1, 3 and 5 years and book value for 10 years.

    *FTSE All World Index (GBP) TR.

    Performance source: Morningstar and relevant underlying index provider, total return.

    Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

    Performance - 29/02/2024

    Performance figures appear in GBP. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.
    If the graph shows negative figures this means that the share price is lower than the NAV at fair – this is known as trading at a Discount.
    If the graph shows positive figures this means that the share price is higher than the NAV at fair - this is known as trading at a Premium.
    Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future performance.

    Long-term Dividend Record

    No dividend reductions in the past eighty years.

    Past performance is not a guide to future performance. We have chosen to use a logarithmic scale for the dividend price to more clearly display the consistent level of dividend increase over the years.

    The investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are listed UK companies and are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The value of their shares, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. 

    Source: Scottish American Investment Trust Annual Reports, Baillie Gifford. Dividends are shown net of withholding taxes since 1973, when Advanced Corporation Tax was first introduced in the UK. Dividends from 1965-1973 are shown net of the 45% Corporation Tax introduced in the Finance Act of 1965. Dividends prior to 1965 are shown as if the Corporation Tax had existed before 1965, on a comparable basis.

    Holdings - 29/02/2024

    Fund %
    1 Novo Nordisk 4.0%
    2 Microsoft 4.0%
    3 Fastenal 3.4%
    4 Watsco 3.3%
    5 TSMC 3.0%
    6 Partners 2.7%
    7 Procter & Gamble 2.7%
    8 Atlas Copco 2.5%
    9 Schneider Electric 2.5%
    10 CAR Group 2.3%
    Total 30.5%
    Active Share - 29/02/2024

    Relative to FTSE All-World Index. Source: Baillie Gifford & Co, FTSE.

    Asset allocation of total assets - 29/02/2024

    Fund %

    • 1 North American Equities 36.28
    • 2 South American Equities 1.29
    • 3 European Equities 35.05
    • 4 African and Middle Eastern Equities 0.69
    • 5 Europe 1.64
    • 6 Asian Equities 10.61
    • 7 Australasian Equities 4.04
    • 8 Fixed Interest 2.44
    • 9 Property 8.09
    • 10 Net Liquid Assets -0.13
    • Total 100.00

    As the Fund invests in overseas securities, changes in the rates of exchange may also cause the value of your investment (and any income it may pay) to go down or up.
    The information contained on this page is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon when making investment decisions. All holdings information is unaudited. Source Baillie Gifford & Co.
    Please note that totals may not add due to rounding.

    Meet the Managers

    James Dow

    James was appointed Co-Head of the Global Income Growth Team and Co-Manager of The Scottish American Investment Company PLC (SAINTS) in 2017. He became Manager of SAINTS when Toby Ross stepped back as Co-Manager in February 2024. He became a Partner in the firm from 1 May 2023. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2004 on the Graduate Scheme and became an Investment Manager in our US Equities Team. Previously, James spent three years working at The Scotsman newspaper, where he was the Economics Editor. He is a CFA Charterholder, graduated MA (Hons) in Economics-Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in 2000 and MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics in 2001.

    Ross Mathison

    Ross joined Baillie Gifford in 2019 as an investment manager in the Global Income Growth Team and became Deputy Manager of The Scottish American Investment Company PLC (SAINTS) in August 2023. Previously, he spent a year at Aviva Investors and prior to that nine years at Standard Life Investments as an investment manager, first in the European Equity Team and latterly in the Global Equity Team. Ross is a CFA Charterholder and graduated MA (Hons) in Business and Finance from Heriot-Watt University in 2008. He also sits on the board of directors at Aberlour, a Scottish children’s charity.

    How to Buy

    You can invest in a range of our funds via a number of fund platforms, please see the links opposite. Further information on the funds can be found in the relevant Key Investor Information and Prospectus Documents, which are available in English and will be sent to you free of charge on request. Information on the range of funds available through platforms can be found in our Platform Matrix.

    Baillie Gifford does not sponsor, maintain or have any control over the content of any other websites. Therefore, we are not responsible for the adequacy or accuracy of any of the information you may view, nor do we undertake to ensure successful transmission to any linked website.

    How to Buy

    Documents

    You can access any literature about the Fund here, either by downloading or requesting a copy by post (where available).

    To download any document you will need Adobe Reader. Please note that we can now provide you with Braille and audio transcriptions of our literature on request. It may take up to 10 days for the transcription to be completed dependent on the size of the document.

    Risks

    Any investment in an investment trust involves risk. You should be aware of the following risks when considering investing.


    Past performance

    Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

    The value of your investment

    The investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are listed UK companies and are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The value of their shares, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested.

    Overseas investment

    The Trust invests in overseas securities. Changes in the rates of exchange may also cause the value of your investment (and any income it may pay) to go down or up.

    Emerging Markets

    The Trust invests in emerging markets where difficulties in dealing, settlement and custody could arise, resulting in a negative impact on the value of your investment.

    Gearing

    The Trust can borrow money to make further investments (sometimes known as “gearing” or “leverage”). The risk is that when this money is repaid by the Trust, the value of the investments may not be enough to cover the borrowing and interest costs, and the Trust will make a loss. If the Trust's investments fall in value, any invested borrowings will increase the amount of this loss.

    Share buy-backs

    The Trust can buy back its own shares. The risks from borrowing, referred to above, are increased when a trust buys back its own shares.

    Liquidity

    Market values for securities which have become difficult to trade may not be readily available and there can be no assurance that any value assigned to such securities will accurately reflect the price the Trust might receive upon their sale.

    Derivatives

    The Trust can make use of derivatives to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to assets and may result in the Trust being leveraged. Derivatives are most often used to compensate for possible unfavourable currency and market movements. This may result in greater movements (down or up) in the net asset value of the Trust. It is not our intention that the use of derivatives will significantly alter the overall risk profile of the Trust. A further risk exists in respect of the counterparty with whom the derivative transaction is made. Due care and diligence is exercised in the selection of counterparties, however, the possibility of the counterparty failing to pay sums due to the Trust still remains.

    Property investment

    The Trust has some direct property investments, which may be difficult to sell. Valuations of property are only estimates based on the valuer's opinion. These estimates may not be achieved when the property is sold.

    Corporate Bonds

    Corporate bonds are generally perceived to carry a greater possibility of capital loss than investment in, for example, higher rated UK government bonds. Bonds issued by companies and governments may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates and expectations of inflation.

    Charges to capital

    The Trust charges 75% of its investment management fee, borrowing costs and property management fee to capital, which reduces the capital value. Also, where income is low, the remaining expenses may be greater than the total income received, meaning the Trust may not pay a dividend and the capital value would be further reduced.

    Tax Rates

    You should note that tax rates and reliefs may change at any time and their value depends on your circumstances.

    Regulation

    The Trust is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

    Information subject to change

    The information and opinions expressed within this website are subject to change without notice.

    Not Investment Advice

    This information has been issued and approved by Baillie Gifford & Co Limited and does not in any way constitute investment advice.

    Suitability for retail distribution

    Please note that the Company currently conducts its affairs, and intends to continue to conduct its affairs, so that the Company’s ordinary shares can be recommended by Independent Financial Advisers to ordinary retail investors in accordance with the FCA’s rules in relation to non-mainstream pooled investment products (NMPI). The Company’s ordinary shares are excluded from the FCA’s restrictions which apply to non-mainstream pooled investment products because they are shares in an investment trust.

    Disclaimers

    FTSE Disclaimer

    Source: London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (collectively, the “LSE Group”). © LSE Group 2024. FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies. “FTSE®" and “Russell®” are trade marks of the relevant LSE Group companies and are used by any other LSE Group company under license. “TMX®” is a trade mark of TSX, Inc. and used by the LSE Group under license. All rights in the FTSE Russell indexes or data vest in the relevant LSE Group company which owns the index or the data. Neither LSE Group nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the indexes or data and no party may rely on any indexes or data contained in this communication. No further distribution of data from the LSE Group is permitted without the relevant LSE Group company’s express written consent. The LSE Group does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication.