Scottish Mortgage manager James Anderson to leave firm next year
James Anderson has announced he will step down as manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust next year after more than two decades at the helm.
Baillie Gifford, which runs the investment trust, said Anderson will step down on 30 April 2022 and the trust’s co-manager Tom Slater, who joined in 2015, will continue to run it. Lawrence Burns will become deputy manager with immediate effect.
Shares in the trust dipped 1.8 per cent this morning.
““For investors, while this announcement may be unsettling, the strength of the team-based approach, long handover period and continuity through Tom Slater shouldn’t result in major concerns,” Ryan Hughes, head of portfolios at AJ Bell said. “Slater has worked at Baillie Gifford for over 20yrs and been a manager on the trust for the last 10yrs ensuring that he knows the portfolio inside out. As a result, I expect no change to the approach which should hopefully give investors reassurance that the investment process will remain intact.”
Since his appointment to the trust in April 2000 Anderson has delivered a 1,700 per cent return, according to AJ Bell figures. It is equivalent to turning a £1,000 investment into £18,000 compared to just £4,440 if invested in the FTSE All World benchmark.
“[Anderson’s] approach of identifying and holding transformational growth companies has helped drive economic progress and delivered exceptional returns for shareholders,” Scottish Mortgage trust chair Fiona McBain said. “James has also pioneered our investments in private companies, one of the trust’s most important strategic initiatives to date.”