Global growth with a wider lens
After a tough period for growth investing, Monks Investment Trust (MNKS) has seen its performance improve markedly over the past year, helped by holdings such as TSMC, NVIDIA, SpaceX and Schiehallion. With the economic outlook becoming less certain, the managers have been adjusting the portfolio to allow it to benefit from a wider range of outcomes, not just the small group of AI-driven winners that has recently led markets, while keeping the trust’s focus on exceptional growth businesses.
The shares trade on a mid-single-digit discount to net asset value (NAV), which has been narrowing. If investors continue to favour growth and MNKS sustains its stronger performance, we believe the discount could narrow further.
Diversified exposure to global growth equities
MNKS invests globally for capital growth, which takes priority over income and dividends. The portfolio is mainly global listed equities, with some private investments, chosen purely on the strength of the investment case. There are no set limits on geographic or sector exposure. MNKS also uses structural gearing to enhance long-term returns.
At a glance
Share price and discount
Over the 12 months to 13 July 2026, MNKS’ shares traded between a 3.8% and 10.1% discount to NAV, with an average discount of 6.3%. As at 13 July 2026, the trust was trading on a discount of 4.5%.
MNKS moved from a premium to a discount as rising inflation and interest-rate expectations pushed growth stocks out of favour. However, it has been trading on a narrower discount recently, reflecting improved performance and a shift back towards growth investing.
Time period 30 June 2021 to 07 July 2026
Performance over five years
MNKS’ performance over the five years to 30 June 2026 was held back by the sharp de-rating of growth stocks in 2021 and 2022. However, recent performance has improved significantly. Over the past year, MNKS’ share price returned 25.7% and its NAV returned 19.4%, helped by holdings such as TSMC, NVIDIA, SpaceX and Schiehallion.
Time period 30 June 2021 to 30 June 2026
| Year ended | Share price total return (%) | NAV total return (%) | L&G Global Equity Index (%)1 | MSCI World total return (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/06/2022 | (32.1) | (26.4) | (4.2) | (2.5) |
| 30/06/2023 | 6.8 | 9.6 | 13.3 | 14.1 |
| 30/06/2024 | 19.6 | 16.8 | 20.8 | 21.5 |
| 30/06/2025 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 6.3 | 7.6 |
| 30/06/2026 | 25.7 | 19.4 | 28.4 | 26.1 |
accumulation) is used as a comparator as it tracks the FTSE World Index
Fund profile
Additional information is available at the manager’s website: click here
Balanced exposure to global growth equities
MNKS aims to deliver long-term capital growth, with growth explicitly prioritised over income, from a diversified portfolio of global growth companies. It is managed by Baillie Gifford’s Global Alpha team, which invests for the long term in well-run businesses with sustainable competitive advantages, based on the view that share prices ultimately follow earnings.
MNKS’ managers invest in companies they believe could double in value over five years or triple over 10 years.
The managers look for companies they believe can at least double in value over five years, or triple over 10 years. Profit growth is the main driver, although returns can also come from dividends or a re-rating. The portfolio is unconstrained, typically holds more than 100 companies globally, and is designed to exploit what the managers see as a significant opportunity to outperform markets over the long term. While MNKS uses the FTSE World Index as a performance benchmark, the index has no influence on the portfolio’s construction and the active share is typically around 80% or higher.
MNKS is a stock-picking fund that bears little resemblance to its FTSE World Index benchmark.
The approach is bottom-up, focusing on company research rather than forecasting short-term share price moves or wider economic trends. The managers spend much of their time meeting companies and doing stock-specific research.
Baillie Gifford has managed MNKS since 1931, shortly after the trust was founded in 1929, with the Global Alpha team taking over in March 2015. MNKS has been a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index since its launch in 1992.
About the manager
Well-resourced investment team.
Baillie Gifford has 137 investors and analysts based in Edinburgh, with a further four in the US and China, excluding ESG analysts. It is structured as a partnership, which supports a collegiate investment culture, while portfolio managers retain final responsibility for their portfolios. As at 30 September 2025, it managed or advised on around £213.1bn.
MNKS and its open-ended equivalent, the Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Growth Fund, had combined assets of roughly £4.4bn as at 31 May 2025. The trust is co-managed by Malcolm MacColl, Helen Xiong and Michael Taylor, all senior members of the Global Alpha team.
MNKS versus its Baillie Gifford global growth stablemates
Baillie Gifford runs several global equity investment trusts across the AIC’s Global sectors. While portfolio overlap is limited, investors may be tempted to see them as variations on a theme. We think that overlooks important differences. The distinctions between Schiehallion, which takes long-term minority stakes in later-stage private companies with transformational growth potential, and Edinburgh Worldwide, which focuses on growth in global smaller listed companies are relatively clear. However, the differences between MNKS, Scottish Mortgage and Scottish American are also important.
We believe MNKS sits between Scottish Mortgage (SMT) and The Scottish American Investment Company (SAIN). Like SMT, MNKS is a long-term global growth trust, but it is broader and more diversified, typically holding more than 100 companies across a range of growth styles. SMT is more “high-octane”, with a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio of what its managers see as the world’s most exceptional public and private growth companies.
SAIN plays a different role. It is run as a core global equity income trust, aiming to grow its dividend ahead of inflation. Its portfolio can also include bonds, property and other assets.
In simple terms, SMT is Baillie Gifford’s most ambitious and concentrated global growth trust, SAIN is its global income and dividend-growth option, and MNKS sits between them as a more measured, diversified global growth trust, with capital growth still the priority.
Managers’ view
MNKS’ managers say the world is changing. AI, geopolitics, energy security, infrastructure limits and shifting trade patterns are increasing uncertainty and market volatility, with broader and more extreme price swings. They add that while bottlenecks are evolving, this is creating new opportunities beyond the narrow group of AI winners that have led the market.
The managers say it is hard to predict the long-term winners with confidence. In response, they are building a portfolio designed to perform across many possible outcomes and have been making room to back their highest-conviction ideas.
AI remains a key theme, but the portfolio is increasingly positioned for a next phase of growth driven by power, infrastructure, resources, manufacturing capacity and financial resilience. The managers say they have used recent volatility to improve the portfolio’s resilience and add to high-conviction holdings where they believe the market has overreacted.
They add that portfolio fundamentals remain strong, with higher forecast earnings and sales growth than the index, robust margins and returns, and a valuation premium that has fallen to zero, its lowest level in 10 years.
Bottlenecks are evolving
For much of the past 15 years, capital, computing power and resources were relatively easy to access, while skilled knowledge workers were scarce. This helped capital-light digital platforms capture a large share of profit growth. Over the past year, that has changed, with capital, computing power, energy, infrastructure and resources becoming tighter constraints. At the same time, AI may be making some forms of intelligence more widely available.
The clearest winners over the past year have been companies benefiting from bottlenecks in the AI hardware build-out, including TSMC, Samsung Electronics and NVIDIA. However, MNKS’ managers caution that AI is not a single theme with the same winners, and that not all AI exposure is equally attractive. They have trimmed Samsung and Comfort Systems after very strong share price gains, and sold FTAI Aviation. In FTAI’s case, they saw its move into using aircraft engines to power data centres as a less-certain shift away from its core business, while the valuation had become elevated.
The managers also believe the market has been too broad-brush in selling some digital businesses seen as at risk from AI. Tencent and CoStar were among the detractors during the last financial year, but the managers argue both are more protected than the market recognises. Tencent can use AI to improve advertising and engagement, while CoStar owns hard-to-replicate data and marketplace assets that should remain valuable even as AI tools spread. They have therefore added selectively where they think AI fears have gone too far, including Samsara, Shopify and Adyen.
Building a portfolio for a wider range of outcomes
MNKS’ managers are aiming to build a portfolio that can perform across a wider range of outcomes. They have added exposure to physical bottlenecks and real-world constraints, including energy, copper and financials. New holdings include EOG and EQT, which should benefit from tighter oil and gas markets and energy security concerns; Tidewater, which supplies vessels to the offshore oil and gas industry; and Freeport-McMoRan, where copper demand is supported by data centres, electrification, defence, robotics and power grid investment.
They have also added more dependable growth stocks such as Philip Morris International, Midea and Dino Polska, alongside banks including Credicorp, UOB and SEB. They say the aim is to keep growth exposure, but broaden its drivers and reduce reliance on any single macro or thematic outcome.
Investment philosophy and process
Baillie Gifford believes markets often misprice long-term growth, especially over five years or more, creating opportunities to generate alpha. This supports its long-term culture and its willingness to “stick with the winners” where it sees strong management, robust business models and ongoing share price potential.
The investment process is research-led and proprietary. Much of the work is carried out by the Global Alpha team with support from Baillie Gifford’s wider platform, local research teams, academics and industry experts. For selected companies, it also uses investigative journalists and forensic accountants. Company meetings focus on long-term prospects, management quality and strategic ambition.
Three distinct growth profiles:
- Cyclical growth
- Growth stalwarts
- Rapid growth
The Global Alpha team groups companies into three growth profiles: growth stalwarts, rapid growth and cyclical growth. Growth stalwarts have durable franchises and clear competitive advantages. Rapid-growth companies are innovators disrupting large markets. Cyclical-growth companies have management teams that can reinvest capital well into structural growth opportunities. This approach helps avoid reliance on one type of growth and sets clear expectations for each holding.
The team builds a forward-looking hypothesis for each investment.
For each potential investment, the team sets a forward-looking hypothesis explaining the case and the milestones used to track progress. This thesis is continually retested as new information emerges, focusing on whether the company remains on track to deliver the long-term growth that supported the original investment.
The team can draw on the resources of Baillie Gifford’s wider “trusted advisor” network.
Ideas come from the Global Alpha team and Baillie Gifford’s wider trusted adviser network, including specialist teams covering emerging markets, developed Asia, North America, Europe, durable growth, smaller companies and long-term global growth. A large universe is narrowed using liquidity and market-capitalisation screens before detailed research.
Research centres on three questions: the size of the opportunity; whether the company has the financial strength, management quality and competitive advantage to deliver; and whether the expected growth is already reflected in the valuation.
MNKS’ managers have the final decision on which stocks go into the portfolio.
Portfolio construction sits with MNKS’ managers. For each holding, they assess how it compares globally, whether the opportunity is sustainable, where their view differs from the market, and what it adds to the portfolio. They aim for differentiated ideas rather than extra exposure to existing themes, so asset allocation is driven by stock selection, with regional and sector weights reflecting where the team sees the best long-term growth.
Smaller “incubator” holdings allow the managers to access higher-risk, higher-reward opportunities while limiting downside.
Position sizing is an added risk control. Highest-conviction holdings can exceed 2% of the portfolio, core positions are typically around 1%, and smaller incubator holdings of around 0.5% provide exposure to higher-risk, higher-reward ideas while limiting downside if the thesis fails. Sell decisions reflect deteriorating fundamentals, reduced confidence in management, valuation concerns, or evidence that a company is no longer delivering its expected growth profile.
Risk management is built into the process rather than tied to tight benchmark limits. The portfolio is diversified by stock, industry, region and growth profile, but guidelines are broad so managers can focus capital on their best ideas. Baillie Gifford also uses tools such as valuation heatmaps and correlation analysis to identify risk clusters and test portfolio balance. ESG and stewardship are integrated into research, including assessment of management quality, business models, operating practices and long-term risks and opportunities that could affect a company’s ability to sustain growth.
Asset allocation
Global equity portfolio with high active share (79%) with biases to the US and emerging markets.
As discussed elsewhere in this note, MNKS’ asset allocation mainly reflects the managers’ stock selection, which drives its high active share, typically around 80%. The portfolio is global but heavily weighted to North America at 55–60% of assets and emerging markets at around 20%, with Europe and Developed Asia making up the remainder.
Relative to its comparative index, MNKS’ portfolio is underweight North America, Europe and Japan, and overweight other regions. Comparing Figures 1 and 2, the largest cut is to developed Europe at 5.6 percentage points, with further reductions to Developed Asia (1.8ppts) and North America (0.9ppts) and Japan (0.8ppts). The biggest increase is to emerging markets (5.7ppts), with further increases to the UK (3.2ppts) and South America (0.7ppts).
Figure 1: MNKS geographic asset allocation as at 31 May 2026
Figure 2: MNKS geographic asset allocation as at 31 May 2025
Figure 3: MNKS sectoral allocation as at 31 May 2026
Figure 4: MNKS sectoral allocation as at 31 May 2025
MNKS’ portfolio has significant exposures to technology, industrials, financials, consumer discretionary and healthcare.
By industry, the portfolio remains weighted to technology (around a third of the portfolio), alongside industrials, financials, consumer discretionary and healthcare. The largest move is a cut to consumer discretionary (5.3ppts), with smaller reductions to industrials (1.3ppts) and technology (0.6ppts). The largest increase is to financials (4.1ppts), with further increases to telecommunications (1.8ppts), energy (1.7ppts) and consumer staples (0.9ppts). All other changes are under 0.5ppt.
Top 10 holdings
Figure 5 shows MNKS’ top 10 holdings as at 31 May 2026 and how they have changed over the past 12 months. In line with the trust’s long-term, low-turnover approach, six holdings were also in the top 10 at end-May 2025, though their rankings have changed. New entrants to the top 10 are Alphabet, Royalty Pharma, Samsung Electronics and Tencent, while Prosus, Elevance, Mastercard and Service Corporation International have dropped out. We discuss some of the larger holdings in more detail over the following pages.
Figure 5: Top 10 holdings as at 31 May 2026
| Holding | Sector | Business | Allocation 31 May 2026 (%)1 | Allocation 31 May 2025 (%)1 | Percentage point change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSMC | Technology | Semiconductor manufacturer | 6.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 |
| The Schiehallion Fund Limited | Financials | Closed end fund focused on private investments | 5.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| NVIDIA | Technology | Graphics processing, gaming, AI technology | 4.8 | 3.7 | 1.1 |
| Alphabet | Communications | Online search engine | 3.9 | 1.4 | 2.5 |
| Amazon.com | Communications | Online retailer and cloud computing platform | 3.0 | 3.8 | (0.8) |
| Microsoft | Technology | Software and cloud computing | 2.7 | 4.5 | (1.8) |
| Royalty Pharma | Healthcare | Biopharmaceutical royalties portfolio | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| Samsung Electronics | Technology | Semiconductors and consumer goods | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| Meta Platforms | Communications | Social networking website | 2.3 | 4.4 | (2.1) |
| Tencent | Communications | Social media and gaming | 1.9 | – | 1.9 |
| Total of top 5 | 23.9 | 19.9 | 4.0 | ||
| Total of top 10 | 35.6 | 32.8 | 2.8 |
TSMC (6.4%) – critical enabler of the global technology ecosystem
Figure 6: TSMC share price (TWD)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC – www.tsmc.com/english) is the world’s leading dedicated semiconductor foundry. It does not design its own chips, but manufactures them for many of the largest semiconductor companies. This gives it exposure to long-term growth in smartphones, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, automotive and industrial applications. It is also the dominant maker of the most advanced chips used to train leading AI models, with a share of more than 90% in the latest manufacturing processes.
MNKS’ managers say TSMC’s advantage comes from the scale, precision and complexity of its manufacturing. They believe its technology leadership, importance to customers and exposure to fast-growing AI justify it being MNKS’ largest holding. Demand for semiconductors remains cyclical, capital spending needs are high, and it faces geopolitical risk around Taiwan. Even so, its role in advanced computing makes it strategically important to the AI ecosystem. Despite typically cautious guidance, TSMC expects AI-related revenue to grow by more than 50% per year through 2029.
The Schiehallion Fund Limited (5.8%) – private companies with transformational growth potential
Figure 7: Schiehallion Fund share price (US$)
The Schiehallion Fund (MNTN – schiehallion-fund) gives MNKS exposure to later-stage private companies with the potential for transformational growth and, over time, a stock market listing. Also managed by Baillie Gifford, it invests globally in high-growth private businesses with scalable models, strong competitive positions and large long-term opportunities. The rationale is that it gives MNKS access to key areas of innovation before companies reach public markets, and it can continue to hold these businesses as they mature after IPO.
Schiehallion’s long-term approach aims to capture value as companies develop, fitting MNKS’ focus on exceptional growth businesses. Private companies can be harder to value, less liquid and more sensitive to funding conditions, but as businesses stay private for longer, Schiehallion broadens MNKS’ opportunity set beyond listed shares. As it is also managed by Baillie Gifford, MNKS excludes this holding from the assets used to calculate its own management fee, avoiding shareholders paying MNKS’ fee on top of Schiehallion’s fee.
NVIDIA (4.8%) – central to the development of generative AI
Figure 8: NVIDIA share price (US$)
NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com/en-gb) designs graphics processing units and related semiconductor systems used in gaming, visualisation, data centres and AI. After years of investment in hardware and software, it has built a strong accelerated computing ecosystem, making its technology central to training and running generative AI models.
Like TSMC, NVIDIA offers direct exposure to AI. The managers note that NVIDIA is using its scale and strong cash generation to reinvest heavily in this opportunity designing hardware that makes data centres more powerful and energy efficient, and software that helps companies adopt AI faster.
The managers note that expectations are high, demand for semiconductors can be cyclical, export controls remain a constraint, and AI-related capital spending may be uneven. However, they believe NVIDIA’s technology leadership and central role in the chip ecosystem make it a clear beneficiary of AI, supporting its significant position in MNKS’ portfolio.
Alphabet (3.9%) – exposure to several significant growth themes
Figure 9: Alphabet share price (US$)
Alphabet (abc.xyz) is Google’s parent company and one of the world’s leading internet platforms. It is built around search and digital advertising, where its scale, data and distribution support a strong competitive position. Its cloud business is also growing quickly, helped by rising demand for AI infrastructure and enterprise digital services.
Alphabet gives MNKS exposure to several growth opportunities. While there were early concerns that AI could weaken traditional search, Google now looks well placed to add AI to search and potentially strengthen its core business. Investment in its own hardware should also support returns from AI-driven cloud demand, while Waymo, its autonomous driving platform, provides additional optionality. Regulatory scrutiny and competition remain risks, but Alphabet’s scale, profitability and ability to reinvest across large opportunities leave it well placed to manage them.
Amazon.com (3.0%) – AWS the key growth driver
Figure 10: Amazon.com share price (US$)
Amazon.com (ir.aboutamazon.com) is one of the world’s leading ecommerce and technology platforms. Its core retail business provides major scale, customer reach and logistics capabilities, while it has expanded into higher-margin areas such as advertising, media and entertainment.
For MNKS’ managers, the main driver is Amazon Web Services, its cloud computing platform and a global leader in a market still supported by long-term growth in digital infrastructure, data and AI. AWS gives Amazon exposure to enterprise cloud adoption and AI-related computing demand, while the wider group benefits from its ability to reinvest at scale across large markets. The managers note risks from rising competition, regulation and the heavy spending needed for logistics and cloud infrastructure, but believe Amazon remains well-positioned with a long growth runway.
Unlisted positions
At 30 April 2026, the latest date with full portfolio data, MNKS held six direct unlisted investments, unchanged from 31 October 2025. However, SpaceX listed on 12 June 2026 following its much-anticipated IPO. As Figure 11 shows, direct unlisted investments made up 4.6% of total assets at the end of April. MNKS also held a further 5.4% in The Schiehallion Fund, a listed vehicle that provides additional exposure to private companies.
Figure 11: MNKS’ unlisted holdings as at 30 April 2026
| Stock | Allocation 30 April 2026 (%)1 | Business focus |
|---|---|---|
| ByteDance | 1.6 | Online content platform including TikTok |
| Space Exploration Technologies | 1.4 | Designs manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft |
| Stripe | 1.0 | Payments platform |
| Epic Games | 0.3 | Gaming software developer |
| Ant International | 0.2 | Chinese online payments and financial services business |
| Silk Invest Africa Food Fund | 0.1 | Africa focused private equity fund |
| Illumina 2 | <0.1 | Gene sequencing business |
| Total unlisted holdings | 4.6 |
Performance
As Figure 12 shows, MNKS’ NAV and share price total returns have lagged global equities, represented by the Legal & General Global Equity Index UCITS ETF, which tracks the FTSE World Index, and the MSCI World Index. Most of underperformance dates from the vaccine rally in November 2021, when expectations of higher interest rates drove a sharp rotation from growth into value. This was compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which pushed up energy costs, inflation and interest rate expectations, further weighing on growth stocks.
Figure 12 highlights other market events over the past five years that affected returns, often more so for growth stocks. Most of these impacts were short-lived and largely reversed over time.
Figure 12: MNKS’ NAV and share price total return versus The L&G Global Equity Index UCITS ETF1 + 3% and MSCI World, rebased to 100 over five years to 30 June 2026
Figure 13: Cumulative total return performance over periods ending 30 June 2026
| 1 month (%) | 3 months (%) | 6 months (%) | 1 year (%) | 3 years (%) | 5 years (%) | 10 years (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNKS NAV | (0.1) | 12.3 | 8.7 | 19.4 | 52.2 | 22.9 | 245.5 |
| MNKS share price | (1.0) | 15.8 | 8.4 | 25.7 | 65.0 | 19.6 | 283.6 |
| L&G Global Equity Index1 | 0.6 | 19.0 | 13.2 | 28.4 | 64.8 | 78.8 | 240.3 |
| MSCI World | 0.9 | 13.6 | 11.6 | 26.1 | 64.8 | 83.4 | 261.7 |
| Peer group average NAV | 1.5 | 10.4 | 6.3 | 14.2 | 43.0 | 35.9 | 239.5 |
| Peer group average share price | 0.3 | 12.8 | 6.2 | 14.0 | 48.8 | 30.5 | 230.5 |
Up-to-date information on MNKS and its peers is available on the QuotedData website.
Figure 13 shows that MNKS has outperformed both indices over three years. We think this is notable given its growth bias and the drag from higher interest rates for much of the period. MNKS has also beaten peer group averages, which we think reflects the strength of the manager’s process and access to strong private companies such as SpaceX and its recent purchase of Anthropic.
We think longer time periods are a better way to judge long-term strategies such as MNKS. Over 10 years, MNKS has outperformed its peer group average in both NAV and share price, and has also beaten the L&G Global Equity Index UCITS ETF over the same period, which we use as a proxy for the FTSE World Index it tracks. We believe a more supportive backdrop for growth investments could help MNKS extend its lead over peers and narrow the gap to these indices.
Peer group
Please click here to visit QuotedData.com for a live comparison of the Global sector peer group.
MNKS is a member of the AIC Global sector, which comprises nine trusts, as shown in Figures 14 and 15. Sector members typically have more than 80% of assets invested in quoted global equities, less than 80% in any one region, an objective mainly focused on capital growth, a bias towards medium- to giant-cap companies, most expenses charged to capital, and a global benchmark. However, the peer group includes a range of different approaches.
MNKS is firmly growth-focused, but offers broader exposure to growth stocks than Scottish Mortgage (SMT), arguably its closest peer, which runs a much more concentrated portfolio.
Figure 14: Peer group cumulative NAV total return performance to 30 June 2026
| 1 month (%) | 3 months( %) | 6 months (%) | 1 year (%) | 3 years (%) | 5 years (%) | 10 years (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNKS | (0.1) | 12.3 | 8.7 | 19.4 | 52.2 | 22.9 | 245.5 |
| Alliance Witan | 1.9 | 11.7 | 7.0 | 12.8 | 38.9 | 48.1 | 191.7 |
| AVI Global | (4.1) | 4.7 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 36.7 | 40.1 | 179.0 |
| Bankers | 1.8 | 18.5 | 15.5 | 28.2 | 57.9 | 57.8 | 215.7 |
| Brunner | 1.9 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 17.9 | 44.4 | 63.8 | 205.2 |
| F&C | 1.6 | 13.3 | 12.5 | 25.0 | 61.8 | 74.3 | 240.8 |
| Lindsell Train | (2.9) | (3.7) | (16.8) | (23.2) | (8.5) | (11.9) | 217.7 |
| Mid Wynd International | 0.2 | 7.9 | (1.8) | 2.0 | 10.3 | 7.7 | 134.9 |
| Scottish Mortgage | 13.1 | 22.8 | 24.0 | 40.4 | 93.0 | 20.4 | 525.0 |
| MNKS rank | 7/9 | 4/9 | 4/9 | 4/9 | 4/9 | 6/9 | 2/9 |
| Sector arithmetic avg. | 1.5 | 10.4 | 6.3 | 14.2 | 43.0 | 35.9 | 239.5 |
| Sector arithmetic avg. exc. MNKS | 1.7 | 10.2 | 6.0 | 13.6 | 41.8 | 37.5 | 238.8 |
At the other end of the spectrum, Lindsell Train has a stronger value tilt, investing in what its managers see as high-quality, cash-generative companies with strong finances and defensible positions. Mid Wynd describes itself as a quality growth investor, focusing on mature, highly profitable compounders that can sustain high returns on capital and reinvest cashflows for long-term growth. Alliance Witan is a large multi-manager trust, offering access to a range of stock pickers targeting both capital and income growth. AVI Global focuses on undervalued assets, including family-controlled holding companies and other closed-ended funds trading below intrinsic value. Most other peers aim to combine long-term capital growth with reliable income. In our view, MNKS stands out by pairing a strong growth focus with a diversified portfolio.
This growth bias meant MNKS was hit harder than the peer group average during the de-rating of growth stocks after the vaccine rally, as shown in the five-year numbers in Figure 14. SMT, unsurprisingly, fell more. Excluding that period, MNKS is one of the stronger performers across the other timeframes shown, including the past three to four years despite headwinds from higher inflation expectations and interest rates. These pressures have intensified this year as the war in Iran has pushed up energy costs. One- and three-year returns are particularly strong, helped by gains in holdings such as SpaceX and Anthropic.
Figure 15: Peer group comparison – size, fees, discount, yield and gearing as at 13 July 2026
| Market cap (£m) | St. dev. of NAV returns over 1 year | Ongoing charges (%) | Perf. fee | Premium/ (discount) (%) | Dividend yield (%) | Gross gearing (%)1 | Net gearing (%)1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNKS | 2,504.5 | 17.32 | 0.44 | No | (4.5) | 0.06 | 6.3 | 5.3 |
| Alliance Witan | 4,978.3 | 12.33 | 0.47 | No | (5.0) | 2.19 | 7.7 | 3.9 |
| AVI Global | 996.3 | 15.03 | 0.85 | No | (8.2) | 1.79 | 12.2 | 3.8 |
| Bankers | 1,384.2 | 15.06 | 0.51 | No | (7.8) | 1.83 | 6.0 | 1.7 |
| Brunner | 642.3 | 13.44 | 0.61 | No | (10.6) | 1.81 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| F&C | 6,446.1 | 13.37 | 0.45 | No | (7.3) | 1.21 | 5.8 | 4.4 |
| Lindsell Train | 112.0 | 18.94 | 0.80 | Yes | (20.3) | 5.00 | Nil | (4.3) |
| Mid Wynd International | 209.3 | 11.63 | 0.64 | No | (1.7) | 1.09 | Nil | (1.6) |
| Scottish Mortgage | 15,573.8 | 25.68 | 0.33 | No | (7.4) | 0.32 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| MNKS rank2 | 4/9 | 7/9 | 2/9 | 8/9 | 9/9 | 7/9 | 8/9 | |
| Sector arithmetic avg. | 3,649.6 | 15.87 | 0.57 | (7.9) | 1.70 | 5.1 | 2.3 | |
| Sector arithmetic avg. exc. MNKS | 3,792.8 | 15.69 | 0.58 | (8.4) | 1.91 | 5.0 | 2.0 |
correspond to a higher ranking).
The Global sector includes some of the largest trusts in the investment company universe. While MNKS is the fourth largest, its c.£2.5bn market cap is below the sector average. Ongoing charges are highly competitive, ranking second lowest in the peer group and below larger trusts such as F&C and Alliance. Witan is around 2.6x MNKS’ size and 2.0x MNKS’ size respectively. MNKS’ ongoing charges ratio is 13bps below the sector average and, like most peers, it does not charge a performance fee.
MNKS uses gearing explicitly to enhance long-term returns and, reflecting this, has the second-highest net gearing in the sector. However, borrowing levels across the peer group remain low and MNKS’ 5.3% net gearing at the end of June is still modest and manageable.
MNKS’ NAV return volatility is modestly above the sector average, which reflects its growth focus and its higher sensitivity to shifting inflation expectations and interest rates in recent years. Not surprisingly, SMT’s NAV return volatility is higher and we think this illustrates the benefits of MNKS’ broader growth exposure.
Dividend
Investors should not purchase MNKS if they require income from their investment.
MNKS’ main aim is capital growth, with income and dividends clearly secondary. Dividends are therefore only paid as needed to keep investment trust status, can vary widely year to year, and are likely to be a small part of total shareholder returns. MNKS pays one final dividend each year, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, usually in September.
For the year ended 30 April 2026, the board is proposing a final dividend of 0.9p per share, up from 0.5p in 2025. This implies a 0.06% yield, based on the 1,636.0p share price. MNKS’ revenue income has exceeded its dividend for more than a decade, helping it build a sizeable revenue reserve. As at 30 April 2026, this was £75.6m, or 48.04p per share, up from £72.6m, or 38.69p per share, a year earlier.
Figure 16: MNKS revenue income and dividend by financial year (ended 30 April)
Structure
Fees and costs
MNKS has a tiered management fee.
The manager charges an annual fee of 0.45% of total assets, less current liabilities excluding short-term bank borrowings used for share buybacks, up to £750m; 0.33% between £750m and £1.75bn; and 0.30% above £1.75bn. To avoid double charging, this excludes MNKS’ holding in The Schiehallion Fund, which is also managed by Baillie Gifford. Fees are paid monthly in arrears, there is no performance fee, and either party can terminate the agreement on six months’ notice.
Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is MNKS’ AIFM and also provides company secretarial and administrative services. The Bank of New York Mellon (International) acts as custodian and depositary. General administrative expenses were £474,000 for the year ended 30 April 2026, down from £510,000 in 2025. Custody fees were £330,000 and depositary fees £250,000, compared with £347,000 and £260,000 the previous year.
Figure 18: MNKS ongoing charges ratio (%)1
MNKS charges investment management fees to revenue. Transaction costs on purchases and sales are charged to capital, buyback and issuance costs are added to buyback costs or deducted from issue proceeds, and tax is split between revenue and capital depending on the underlying item. The ongoing charges ratio was 0.44% for the year ended 30 April 2026, slightly up from 0.43% in 2025 and in line with 2024.
As Figure 18 shows, MNKS’ ongoing charges have generally fallen over the past decade, helped by rising net assets and regular share issuance during periods of strong demand. The main exceptions were FY2023 and FY2024. In FY2023, expenses fell but average NAV declined more sharply as growth stocks struggled. In FY2024, expenses rose slightly while NAV remained low.
MNKS has previously traded at a premium to NAV and issued shares, which reduced ongoing charges by spreading fixed costs over a larger asset base. Higher inflation expectations in 2021 and 2022 pushed the trust onto a discount, which prevented further issuance. However, with MNKS now on a mid-single-digit discount, a return if the trust continues to trade at a premium and issues new shares again, the ongoing charges ratio could fall slightly, all else being equal.
Capital structure and life
MNKS has one class of ordinary share in issue.
MNKS has a simple capital structure, with one class of ordinary shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. As at 13 July 2026, it had 678,651,858 shares in issue, with 99,143,930 held in treasury and 154,027,530 in general circulation.
The board has set a long-term gearing target of 10% of MNKS’ net assets.
Platforms account for around 46% of the share register, giving MNKS a strong retail presence. The trust is permitted to borrow and uses gearing to enhance long-term returns. The board’s strategic borrowing target is 10%, and it expects effective gearing to stay within a range of -15% to +15%.
MNKS uses long-term loan notes alongside shorter-term, more flexible borrowing. The loan notes were issued when interest rates were very low, with covenants that limit total borrowings to 30% of adjusted NAV and require a minimum adjusted NAV of £650m.
MNKS also has a three-year £100m unsecured floating-rate revolving credit facility with Royal Bank of Scotland International, expiring on 28 November 2027 and paying interest at 1.6% over SONIA. Its loan notes are:
- £60m 1.86% Notes repayable in 2054;
- £40m 1.77% Notes repayable in 2045;
- ¥2,500m 2.17% Notes repayable in 2037;
- €18m 4.55% Notes repayable in 2035;
- €35m 4.29% Notes repayable in 2033; and
- €18m 4.30% Notes repayable in 2030.
For the year ended 30 April 2026, the weighted average interest rate across MNKS’ borrowings was approximately 3.4%. As at 30 June 2026, gross gearing was 6.3% and net gearing was 5.3%.
MNKS has an indefinite life and no regular continuation vote or similar wind-up mechanism. Its year end is 30 April, with annual results typically released in July, interim results in December, the AGM in September, and dividends usually paid in September.
Board
Director’s average length of service is 4.6 years.
MNKS’ board usually has five directors, but it currently has seven independent non-executive directors to support an orderly transition ahead of the retirements of Belinda Richards and Sir Nigel Shadbolt at the next AGM. They are the longest-serving directors, with tenures of 9.8 and 9.4 years respectively. There are no shared directorships outside the company. Aggregate directors’ fees are capped at £400,000 per annum under the articles, and all directors stand for annual re-election. The board’s average tenure is 4.6 years, or 2.6 years excluding the two retiring directors.
At the time of writing, the board has a 57/43 gender split, with a male chair and women in the next two most senior roles: audit committee chair and senior independent director. The board is 86% white and 14% Asian/Asian British, with diversity targets included in succession planning.
Figure 19: Board member – length of service and shareholdings
| Director | Position | Date of appointment | Length of service (years) | Annual fee (£)1 | Share-holding 2 | Years of fee invested 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randeep Grewal | Chairman | 1 March 2024 | 2.4 | 52,000 | 2,875 | 0.9 |
| Claire Boyle | Chair of the audit and risk committee | 1 May 2020 | 6.2 | 43,000 | – | – |
| Stacey Parrinder-Johnson | Senior independent director | 1 March 2024 | 2.4 | 40,000 | 4,500 | 1.8 |
| Belinda Richards | Director | 28 September 2016 | 9.8 | 36,000 | 13,371 | 6.0 |
| Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt | Director | 9 March 2017 | 9.4 | 36,000 | 2,313 | 1.0 |
| David Ballance | Director | 1 March 2025 | 1.4 | 36,000 | 4,000 | 1.8 |
| Richard Curling | Director | 1 October 2025 | 0.8 | 36,000 | – | – |
| Average (service length, annual fee, shareholding, years of fee invested) | 4.6 | 39,857 | 3,867 | 1.7 |
As Figure 19 shows, five of the seven directors have personal investments in MNKS, with average holdings equal to 1.7 years of fees. We view this positively as it aligns directors’ interests with shareholders. Two directors bought MNKS shares in the past 12 months: Randeep Grewal bought 2,000 shares at 1,523.34p on 20 January 2026, and David Ballance bought 4,000 shares at 1,488.91p on 15 October 2025. No directors sold shares in the period.
Randeep Grewal (chairman)
Randeep was appointed a director in March 2024 and became chairman in September 2025. He studied Medicine and Computer Science at Jesus College, Cambridge, trained as a vascular surgeon, and later moved into healthcare and technology investing. He joined Tudor Capital in 1998 as an analyst and portfolio manager, and later served as a senior portfolio manager at F&C Asset Management and Trium Opportunistic Equity Fund. He is also a non-executive director of the Global Smaller Companies Trust Plc.
Claire Boyle (chair of the risk and audit committee)
Claire is a chartered accountant, qualifying with Coopers & Lybrand, where she specialised in litigation support and forensic accounting. She then spent 13 years in equity investment management at Robert Fleming Investment Management, American Express Asset Management and Oxburgh Partners LLP, where she was a partner responsible for its European Equity Hedge Fund. She is a non-executive director of Nippon Active Value Fund, a non-executive director and audit committee chair of Fidelity Special Values, and non-executive chair of Life Science REIT.
Stacey Parrinder-Johnson (senior independent director)
Stacey was appointed a director in March 2024 and became senior independent director in January 2026. She was chief investment officer of Investec Wealth & Investment UK until September 2023, and also sat on the executive management and risk committees, chairing the investment committee. She has 20 years’ experience in asset selection, portfolio management and manager analysis across UK and international mandates, with expertise in investment trust governance, sustainability and risk. She has also served as a pension trustee and has been a governor of the University of Portsmouth since November 2023.
Belinda Richards (chair of the management engagement committee)
Belinda is a former senior partner at Deloitte LLP, with 30 years’ experience in business operations and strategy, mainly in financial services and consumer products. She chairs the audit committee of Schroder Japan Growth Fund and is a non-executive director of Phoenix Group Holdings and YouGov.
Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt (director)
Sir Nigel is Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. He is also a Professorial Research Fellow in the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer Science and a Visiting Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Southampton. He specialises in open data and artificial intelligence, and chairs the Open Data Institute.
David Ballance (director)
David has around 37 years’ investment management experience. He was a partner and investment director at Ruffer LLP from 2007 to 2022. He has been an external member of Christ Church Oxford’s Investment Group since 2012 and became chair in January 2025. He is also an external investment adviser to the Nuffield Foundation, a trustee director of the NACAB (1991) pension plan, a member of the Book Tokens investment committee, and a trustee of the Fellowship of St John (UK) Trust Association, Pro Corda Trust and St Alban’s Holborn.
Richard Curling (director)
Richard is an experienced investment trust director and fund manager, with over 10 years’ specialist experience in investment companies. He chairs Montanaro European Smaller Companies Investment Trust and is a non-executive director of Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund.
SWOT analysis
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| MNKS has a clear, differentiated global growth mandate that explicitly prioritises capital growth over income. Its unconstrained approach allows the managers to invest in businesses where they believe earnings growth can be materially above average over the long term.
MNKS provides broad exposure to growth opportunities, in contrast to, for instance, Scottish Mortgage, which has a much more concentrated portfolio. MNKS benefits from Baillie Gifford’s deep global equity research resources, long-term investment culture and experience in identifying companies with transformational growth potential. MNKS takes a patient investment approach. Its investment trust structure allows it to target less-liquid or out-of-favour growth companies, and its managers look for businesses that they believe have the potential to double their earnings over a five-year period. Low-cost structure due to scale and tiered management fee. Long-term structural gearing that aims to enhance returns over the longer term. It has a long-term strategic target of 10%. |
MNKS is fundamentally a global growth strategy. That gives it significant upside when growth investing is in favour, but exposed when markets rotate towards value, income, defensive sectors or near-term earnings certainty, particularly when inflation and interest rates are rising.
MNKS’ diversified growth portfolio may lag its benchmark in situations where returns are dominated by a very small number of mega-cap stocks. However, this may at times be mitigated by MNKS’ ability to invest in high-growth private companies that are not present in its benchmark. MNKS is unashamedly growth focused. It pays the minimum dividend required to maintain its investment trust status and is not suitable for investors seeking income. While gearing can enhance long-term returns, it can also magnify losses during equity market drawdowns. This is particularly relevant for a high-growth equity portfolio for MNKS, where valuations can be sensitive to interest rates, risk appetite and changes in long-term earnings expectations. However, the manager is strategic in its use of gearing, operating in a range of -15% to +15% of NAV, which can help to mitigate this risk. |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| If inflation and interest rates stabilise or decline, long-duration growth equities could regain favour. MNKS’ portfolio is positioned to benefit from companies capable of compounding earnings over long periods, and any broader market rotation back towards growth could be helpful.
MNKS has exposure to companies benefiting from AI, semiconductor demand, cloud computing and digital infrastructure. Recent top holdings have included TSMC, NVIDIA, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft, giving the trust exposure to several of the companies and supply chains central to AI-related investment. It also has exposure to unquoted companies such as Anthropic. The market has been unusually concentrated in recent years. A broadening of returns beyond a small group of US mega-cap technology companies could benefit MNKS, given its diversified approach and willingness to invest across different types of growth businesses. |
Growth equities are sensitive to discount rates. If interest rates remain higher for longer, or if bond yields rise again, the market may continue to place lower valuations on long-duration growth assets. However, this should tend to reverse out over the longer term.
Although AI is a major opportunity, it also creates risk. Investor enthusiasm has pushed valuations higher in parts of the technology and semiconductor complex. If earnings fail to justify expectations, or if AI-related capital expenditure disappoints, some of the trust’s key growth areas could de-rate. MNKS competes with very low-cost global equity index funds and ETFs, many of which have performed strongly because of their exposure to US mega-cap technology stocks. To justify active fees, MNKS needs to show that its differentiated approach can add value over full market cycles. MNKS’ global portfolio includes exposure to companies operating across the US, China, Taiwan and other important markets. Tensions around semiconductors, trade, technology regulation and China-related exposure could affect holdings directly or indirectly. The same is true of other growth focused portfolios. |
Bull vs. bear case
| Aspect | Bull case | Bear case |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | MNKS offers a diversified route into high-growth global equities, backed by Baillie Gifford’s long-term research-driven approach. If the market broadens beyond the narrow group of mega-cap technology stocks that has dominated recent index returns, MNKS’ wider spread of growth companies could be well placed to benefit. Its investment trust structure also allows it to use gearing, which can enhance returns in rising markets. | The trust remains heavily exposed to growth-style risk. As was seen with its FY2023 to FY2025 results, high-growth equities can suffer when interest rates and bond yields rise, because their valuations depend heavily on long-term future cashflows. MNKS has also had periods of underperformance when market leadership has been narrow, or when investors have favoured value, income and defensive stocks. Gearing can amplify these drawdowns. |
| Dividends | MNKS has been very clear to investors that it is managed for capital growth, not income. By paying the minimum dividend required to maintain its investment trust status, MNKS’ portfolio can remain focused on long-term growth generation. | MNKS’ explicitly focuses capital growth over income and only pays a dividend to the extent required to maintain its investment trust status. Investors should not consider investing in MNKS if they require income from their investment. |
| Outlook | The long-term opportunity set for global growth investing remains attractive. AI, semiconductors, cloud computing, digital platforms, healthcare innovation, automation and emerging-market consumption all provide fertile areas for a patient growth investor. If inflation continues to moderate and interest rates fall, the valuation backdrop for long-duration growth assets could improve materially. | The outlook remains vulnerable to macro conditions. If interest rates stay higher for longer, or if bond yields rise again, growth equities could remain under pressure. There is also a risk that enthusiasm around AI and related technology themes has already been reflected in valuations. If earnings growth fails to meet expectations, some of the market’s favoured growth areas could de-rate. That said, MNKS’ broader exposure helps protect against this and the managers have been actively broadening the portfolio’s exposure beyond the narrow group of AI-related names that have recently been driving markets higher, which also helps mitigate this risk. |
| Discount | If MNKS continues to deliver stronger NAV performance and investors continue to regain confidence in Baillie Gifford’s growth style, the discount could narrow from here, potentially moving back to a premium rating as was seen before inflation expectations and interest rates started to rise, boosting shareholder returns in the process. | MNKS’ discount may come under pressure if performance disappoints, interest rates rise causing investors to favour more value-orientated strategies, or if uncertainty increases potentially leading investors to decide to favour a more passive global equity exposure. However, the board also has tools available, including share buybacks, to help manage discount volatility. |
| Other | MNKS has a competitive ongoing charges ratio for an actively managed global equity trust, a tiered management fee that shares economies of scale with shareholders, no performance fee, and access to Baillie Gifford’s global research platform. Its broad portfolio makes it a less-concentrated expression of Baillie Gifford’s growth style than Scottish Mortgage, which may suit investors looking for a core global growth holding. | MNKS still competes with very low-cost global equity ETFs, which have been hard to beat during a period of US mega-cap dominance. Board and management succession also need to be handled well to maintain confidence. More broadly, the strategy depends on investors retaining faith in Baillie Gifford’s long-term growth approach after a difficult period for the style. |
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