Not many people know it but there are a number of FTSE stocks that offer exposure to Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX today. With these stocks, an investor can potentially get in on the rumoured $1.5trn 2026 SpaceX Initial Public Offering (IPO), if it goes ahead.
Interested in learning more? Here are the stocks I’m talking about.
Baillie Gifford is a major investor in SpaceX
For a long time now, Scottish investment manager Baillie Gifford has been a major investor in SpaceX. And here’s the thing – it has a number of investment trusts on the London Stock Exchange in which SpaceX is a large holding.
Its most well known product is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT). This is a growth-focused trust that invests in disruptive companies.
This trust has done well in the past on the back of large positions in stocks like Tesla and Amazon. Baillie Gifford got in on these growth stocks early on and made a killing as they surged.
Now, however, it’s making a big bet on SpaceX. At the end of November, the space company represented 8.2% of the portfolio (the largest holding).
So, by taking a position in this one, an investor can obtain indirect exposure to a SpaceX IPO.
I’ll point out that this trust is higher up on the risk spectrum. Because it’s invested in quite a few unlisted companies and these can be hard to value.
I think it’s worth considering as a long-term growth investment, however (I’m an investor myself). Especially if someone is looking to invest in SpaceX.
Other products offering exposure
Another Baillie Gifford fund in the FTSE that offers access to SpaceX is the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust. This product is focused more on smaller companies (both listed and unlisted) that have significant disruptive growth potential.
At the end of October, SpaceX was 8.4% of the portfolio here. Again, it was the largest holding.
It’s also worth highlighting the Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust. This is a growth-focused product that is centered on US companies (listed and unlisted).
At the end of November, SpaceX was 6% of the portfolio. So, this one doesn’t quite have as much exposure to the company.
I’ll point out that like Scottish Mortgage, both of these products are higher risk due to their focus on growth businesses. But they could be worth a closer look if SpaceX exposure is the goal.
A unique investment trust
Finally, I want to highlight the Schiehallion Fund. This isn’t in a FTSE index but it’s an interesting product as it invests in later stage unlisted companies but has the freedom to remain invested once these companies go public.
At the end of November, SpaceX was 7.5% of the portfolio. This made it the third-largest holding.
Note that this is probably the riskiest product of the four. Because most of its holdings are private companies.
So, it’s not going to be suitable for everyone. If an investor has a high risk tolerance, however, it could be worth checking out.
Straightforward IPO exposure
It’s worth pointing out that there’s no guarantee that a SpaceX IPO will go ahead in 2026. It’s also worth noting that Baillie Gifford could sell down its SpaceX position before the IPO.
For now though, these trusts are one of the most straightforward ways to gain access to the IPO.
