Our smallest unquoted stocks could be the next Nvidia

Scottish Mortgage (SMT) is best known for its large positions in some of the world’s biggest technology companies, such as Amazon and Tesla, but deputy fund manager Lawrence Burns believes the smallest positions in the £13bn global portfolio are just as vital to its future returns.

At the bottom of a long tail of 98 holdings in the Baillie Gifford flagship fund are 22 small unquoted companies that account for just 4.6% of assets but represent £552m of investments. Burns and lead manager Tom Slater hope they yield the successor to wonder stock Nvidia, the strategy’s top holding at 8%.

Burns revealed that Slater and James Anderson, the trust’s former lead manager who retired in 2021, first invested in US chip maker Nvidia in July 2016 when its shares stood at about $14.28 (£11.22).