Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI)

Edinburgh Worldwide (EWI) is designed to harness the growth potential of innovative, early-stage businesses as they come to dominate industries or develop new ones. As well as listed companies, the trust also invests in private businesses, the most prominent being the trust’s largest holding, SpaceX. The portfolio is managed by Douglas Brodie of the Discovery Team at Baillie Gifford, and since November, by Svetlana Viteva and Luke Ward, who have both been promoted to co-manager.

The move is part of a series of adjustments being made to the strategy in order to improve performance. While EWI has performed exceptionally well at times, since 2022 it has underperformed, and the board and manager have conducted a review into how and why, aided by external consultants. The portfolio should become more concentrated and more diversified by theme, while positions in pre-profit businesses will be limited. Full details are in the Portfolio section. The board has also proposed spending up to £130m on buybacks or other returns of capital, a substantial commitment with total assets at c. £802m at the time of writing.

Following the publication of the board’s proposals, activist investor Saba Capital unveiled another set of proposals. These amount to replacing the directors with their own, offering a cash exit and, it seems, a rollover into a different strategy managed by someone of Saba’s choosing. The board has stated its opposition to Saba’s plan and has confirmed it will hold a general meeting to put Saba’s proposals to shareholders. It encourages all shareholders to vote against the resolutions.