Scottish Mortgage shares have ticked up in 2026. Year to date, they’re up about 6% which is a great return in a month and a half.

There’s another Baillie Gifford investment trust that has done far better this year however. Believe it or not, shares in this trust are already up close to 25% in 2026.

Focused on exciting private companies

The investment trust in focus today is the Schiehallion Fund (LSE: MNTN). This is an under-the-radar product that invests in private growth companies (yet can hold on to them once they go public).

Its aim is to generate capital growth for investors through long-term minority investments in later-stage private businesses that are considered to have ‘transformational’ growth potential (and have the potential to become publicly traded).

It’s certainly done this recently – over the last year it’s returned about 55% in US dollar terms.

Today, it’s invested in some well-known private companies. Among the 10 top holdings at the end of January were Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX, TikTok owner Bytedance, data analysts specialist Databricks, and AI powerhouse Anthropic.

At present, the trust trades for around £1.31 (it trades in US dollars). That means that £1,000 buys roughly 760 shares.

A lot of potential

Is this trust worth considering for a portfolio as a growth investment? I think so.

What I like about this product is that it’s essentially a private equity (PE) investment but with far more liquidity than a traditional PE fund. Unlike a traditional PE fund, where your capital is typically locked up for seven to 10 years, shares in this trust can be traded five days a week just like regular stocks (and held inside a Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP).

​​I also like the holdings. Other names in the portfolio at the end January included UK digital bank Revolut, international payments specialist Wise (which is a public company these days), and self-driving vehicle company Nuro. So there are some really exciting names here.

Note that a number of the trust’s holdings, including SpaceX and Anthropic, are expected to come to the market via Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) this year. If shares in these companies were to shoot up post IPO (which I think is highly likely), this trust could do well.

One other thing to note is that a lot of top growth companies today are choosing to stay private for longer. Databricks (founded 2013) and Revolut (2015) are good examples here. Via the Schiehallion trust, investors can get access to these types of world-class companies, unlocking new sources of return while simultaneously diversifying their portfolios.

An investment opportunity?

Now, this is a higher-risk product, because the valuations of private growth companies can fluctuate significantly.

Note that when interest rates jumped in 2022, its share price was hammered as valuations on growth companies came down. Another rise in rates is a risk to consider.

I believe the trust’s worth a look though. A small position could pay off in the long run.