How one investment fund hit the jackpot – thanks to Tesla

In a recent podcast, BizNews founder Alec Hogg reflected on the volatility of Tesla stocks. Talking about the BizNews Share portfolio, he said: "Although we had a nice little run with Tesla, the volatility in the stock was just too much for me and we sold at $300 and it's now $1,500. If you had more of a risk appetite, you could be very happy with where Tesla is today." A British fund that has grown more than seven times faster than its peers is one of those happy investors. Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust's holding of 1.87 million shares in Tesla has increased in value by more than $2 billion since the end of March as the South African-born Elon Musk's company's stock price has surged to a record. That, along with investments, means the Scottish fund has provided a year-to-date return of 55% versus 7.1% for its peer group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They did, however, cut their stake in Tesla by about 125,000 shares in the first quarter. They must be regretting that now! – Renee Moodie.A huge Tesla bet pays off big for one British fund.By Joe Easton.(Bloomberg) – A British fund that has grown more than seven times faster than peers this year has one big bet to thank..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust's holding of 1.87 million shares in Tesla Inc. has increased in value by more than $2 billion since the end of March as the electric carmaker's stock price has surged to a record. That, along with investments in other US tech giants and stay-at-home winners, means the fund has provided a year-to-date return of 55% versus 7.1% for its peer group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg..The growth of the closed-end investment fund – which these days is global and has nothing to do with its roots in mortgages – has helped cement its position in the UK's FTSE 100 benchmark. The shares are among the index's top five winners of 2020 with a gain that matches its fund performance. Tesla now accounts for about 11% of 12.8 billion pounds ($16.9 billion) in total assets, even though the fund trimmed its stake earlier this year..Scottish Mortgage "has benefited from good stock picks as well as being in sectors which have been favored during the global pandemic," Robert Starkey, an analyst at investment research group Morningstar, said in emailed comments. Looking slightly longer-term, its net asset value has more than doubled over the past three years, the fund's website shows..Read also: Tesla stock price depends on Musk's wormhole in time – Vitaliy Katsenelson.Other stocks among the fund's top ten holdings have been beneficiaries of stay-at-home trends due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including e-commerce giants Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., streaming group Netflix Inc., and food-delivery service provider Delivery Hero SE..Yet it's Tesla that has been at the forefront of its outperformance. The carmaker's stock has more than quadrupled this year, fueled by a better-than-expected performance in China and growing anticipation that the company will be included in the S&P 500 Index..Scottish Mortgage is one of many funds run by Baillie Gifford & Co that own Tesla stock. That makes the Edinburgh-based investment-management firm the company's largest shareholder behind co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk with a stake across all its funds of about 6.3%..Stake trimmed.Scottish Mortgage's gains would have been even greater had it not cut its stake in Tesla by about 125,000 shares in the first quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In doing so, the fund missed out on about $164 million in additional value, based on August 17 closing prices..Read also: Why Tesla, a once-popular short, powered up stock exchange – Wall Street Journal.Among Scottish Mortgage's current top 20 equity holdings by market value, Tesla was the only one whose stake was reduced during the first half of the year, Bloomberg data show..In trimming the holding, the fund's managers were making adjustments to reflect their views "on the overall balance of the portfolio rather than simply the individual Tesla holding," a spokesman said by email. "The managers remain supportive holders of Tesla," he said..–With assistance from Amine Haddaoui..To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net

How one investment fund hit the jackpot – thanks to Tesla

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