Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust SMT.L

One of the largest trusts in the United Kingdom, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust was founded in 1909. The company is managed by the Edinburgh-based, Baillie Gifford & Co Limited. In its early years, Scottish Mortgage specialised in foreign investment , focusing on oil and railway companies. Scottish Mortgage also provided loans to countries, including Argentina, China, India and the Ottoman Empire. It was also one of the first companies to invest in the Japanese market, after the Japanese government lifted certain business restrictions.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust stock, SMT.L, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. SMT.L stock is also part of the FTSE 100 Component, an index of companies with the highest market capitalisation, listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The origins of Scottish Mortgage can be traced to two wily Scotsmen, Colonel Augustus Baillie and Carlyle Gifford. They discovered that the rise in popularity of the motorcar created an increased demand for tyres. Asian rubber planters, looking to take advantage of this demand, were unable to raise the necessary funding. Baillie and Gifford stepped in to provide financial assistance, and the rest is history.

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