There are a few distinctive investment trusts listed on the London Stock Exchange, but probably none with a quirkier name than Schiehallion Fund (LSE:MNTN). This Baillie Gifford-run trust is named after the Scottish mountain.
At $1.34, the stock’s currently at a 52-week low. Yet I think this is still a strong candidate for inclusion inside a portfolio in 2026. Here’s why.
Eclectic portfolio
Schiehallion invests in later-stage growth companies that are still privately held. It specifically looks for those with “proven products and the transformational potential to disrupt markets or create new ones“.
This has seen it build quite an eclectic portfolio, with holdings ranging from rocket disruptor SpaceX to Databricks and UK self-driving car start-up Wayve. The latter is working with Nissan and is reportedly close to securing $500m of funding from Nvidia.
Once its portfolio companies go public, Schiehallion prefers to keep holding (or even buy more shares). The aim here is to capture more of the life cycle of a company, which is rather different from other funds that cash out when their holdings go public.
This is why we see listed stocks like fintechs Wise and Affirm, which were both unlisted when Schiehallion first invested in them.
The most transformative companies of our generation are choosing to mature in private ownership, building their long-term growth stories away from the quarterly rhythms of public markets. Schiehallion gives investors access to this rich universe of innovation — the missing pieces to complete a growth portfolio.
Fund manager Peter Singlehurst.
Potential IPOs
One reason I’m bullish here is that a couple of key holdings might go public next year. As such, I reckon more investors could buy shares in this trust as a way to get exposure to these businesses.
Without doubt, the biggest IPO would be SpaceX, which makes up 14% of assets. In recent days, it’s been widely reported that the space exploration giant’s looking to go public in 2026.
We don’t know at what valuation, but there have been various figures ranging from $800bn to $1.5trn. Either way, this would be a significant coup for Schiehallion, which has held SpaceX shares since launch in 2019.
SpaceX’s fastest-growing business is Starlink, the internet service that runs off 9,000+ low-orbit satellites. It now has over 8m active customers, with plans for a direct-to-mobile service.
SpaceX also plans to build and put data centres in space, as well as one day colonise the Moon and Mars. Whether it ever does these things, of course, remains to be seen.
Another interesting company is Italy’s Bending Spoons. This is a largest holding, with a meaty 15.6% weighting back in November.
Bending Spoons buys consumer apps then improves and monetises them (it most recently acquired AOL and Vimeo). The tech firm’s CEO has said it could also go public in 2026.
Big discount
Of course, the flip side to this is that these IPOs could flop, sending Schiehallion’s share price down further in the process. And given the focus on unlisted assets, this is definitely higher risk than most other investment trusts.
However, the shares are currently trading at a very wide 23.4% discount to net asset value. As such, I think they’re worth checking out, particularly for investors who are interested in getting in on SpaceX pre-IPO.
