Technology focus pays dividends for Scottish Mortgage IT

Baillie Gifford's £2.5bn Scottish Mortgage investment trust's share price grew 22% over the past year, largely driven by its exposure to technology, according to the deputy manager.

The group's annual results show on 31 March the share price hit a new record for the financial year closing at 742p. It outperformed its benchmark by 16% as the FTSE All World index rose 6% for the same timeframe. Tom Slater, deputy manager of the trust, said a move toward technology-focused stocks was the main driver of outperformance. The trust has 20% in technology holdings which Slater said consists of less familiar names such as Baidu and Tencent, which have been introduced over the past year. Baidu, a Chinese search engine, is the largest bet in the fund at 6.9%, while the se...