SMT's Stewart Heggie: 'How long do you let the discount go on without taking concerted action?'

'High conviction call'

Scottish Mortgage has made a “high conviction call” to address its ongoing discount, with the launch of a minimum £1bn share buyback programme, which Baillie Gifford argued is part of its solution to the trust's discount.

This morning, the flagship product of the Edinburgh firm revealed it was embarking on the largest share buyback programme undertaken by an investment trust over the coming 24 months. Markets have responded positively to the announcement, with SMT shares up almost 4% since trading opened today (15 March), according to data from the London Stock Exchange. Shavar Halberstadt, equity research analyst at Winterflood Securities, said it was "reminiscent of Mario Draghi's ‘Bazooka' moment at the ECB - the SMT board has decided on a bold move, aiming to jolt the market into a correction". ...