Ben Alligin
28 Dec 2017
Re: O/T MiFID 2 and investment trusts I had to fill out a questionnaire for HL if I wanted to continue to deal in index-linked gilts, as this was considered to be a complex / risky investment. HL didn't need any such thing for my Investment Trust investments, however risky they might be. I'd consider an investment in Scottish Mortgage to be more risky than one in gilts.
PIE-EATER
28 Dec 2017
O/T MiFID 2 and investment trusts Just a query to see if anyone else has had problems trying to deal in Investment Trusts due to the forthcoming MiFID 2 regs?Jarvis X-O say I need to confirm having seen the KIID (but there isn't one at the minute)AJ Bell and HL both say IT's are unaffected by MiFID 2 as they are listed investmentsSurely some clarity and consistency is required?Thanks in advance PE
Callun
30 Nov 2017
Re: RNS but very positive sign I believe the other issuance of ordinary shares this month were also at a market premium, so what's so special about this one to make a positive, and a positive what? Callun
2partacus
30 Nov 2017
Re: RNS but very positive sign It was at a premium to the market price so, that was a positive.
Callun
30 Nov 2017
Re: RNS but very positive sign my count this is the 8th such RNS this month, in tranches between 500,000 and 2.3M.What made you select this particular RNS? Could you explain why is it a positive sign, and of what? The RNS indicates it is a response to demand in the market.Callun
sage in the hills
29 Nov 2017
RNS but very positive sign Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLCLegal Entity Identifier: 213800G37DCS3Q9IJM38Allotment of Shares from Treasury On 28 November 2017, owing to demand in the market, the Company announces the issuance of 650,000 Ordinary Shares of 5p each fully paid from Treasury. Following the issuance there will be 1,402,119,485 Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding the remaining 19,611,395 shares held in Treasury). These shares were issued for cash on 28 November 2017 at a price of 466.90p per share and at a premium to the prevailing net asset value.Baillie Gifford & Co LimitedCompany Secretaries 28 November 2017 Regulated Information Classification: Acquisition or disposal of theissuer's own shares SAGE
Charityman
28 Nov 2017
Re: Happy Bunny Probably going to invest a couple of thousand pounds for my (adult) daughter.
hopetown
27 Nov 2017
James Anderson A good article on James Anderson written by Patrick Hosking....Page 48..... Sorry can't paste i don't have access to the electronic version.
hopetown
27 Nov 2017
Re: Happy Bunny Are you buying now?
Charityman
25 Nov 2017
Happy Bunny Bought a small stake at 409p less than 4 months ago, now looking at 464p, 11% up after costs.Wish I'd bought more at the time, but hindsight is wonderful.
sage in the hills
17 Nov 2017
Tesla Which stocks are in focus?Shares of Tesla Inc.(TSLA) rose 3.5% ahead of the bell after electric-vehicle company Thursday night launched a semi-autonomous electric big rig ([link] which chief executive Elon Musk promised will deliver huge cost efficiencies. Tesla also added a surprise to the event on Thursday, unveiling a new version of the Roadster ([link] company J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.(JBHT) said Friday it has made reservations to buy "multiple" Tesla Semi trucks ([link]
sage in the hills
17 Nov 2017
Baidu, ....and others new product areas China's Baidu Enters 'Smart-Home' Arena -- WSJ17/11/2017 8
2amDow Jones NewsAmazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)Intraday Stock ChartToday : Friday 17 November 2017Click Here for more Amazon Charts.Alyssa Abkowitz This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (November 17, 2017).BEIJING -- In its push into artificial-intelligence technologies, Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc. is entering the market for "smart home" products with an intelligent speaker and a personal robot.The company, which is best known as China's leading search engine, announced at its annual Baidu World conference on Thursday that it will begin selling two home assistants -- similar to Amazon.com Inc.'s Echo -- that can execute commands such as playing songs or videos using voice recognition.With its core search business reaching maturity, Baidu is looking to use its AI capabilities in new enterprises. Last year, a medical scandal cut into its advertising revenue and led to a management shuffle.The company's Raven line of smart-home products, which will be sold in the Chinese market to start, is seen as a way to generate short-term revenue gains while more ambitious ventures such as driverless cars are being developed.While Amazon and Alphabet Inc.'s Google have established a market in the U.S. for smart-home devices, China's tech firms are just now fielding such products. Earlier this year, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched the Tmall Genie, a voice-assistant controlled speaker, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. announced a similar product called Xiaowei. Smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp.'s entry costs less than $50 and includes audiobooks and radio as content.While the market for smart speakers in China is still unknown, analysts say many companies are jumping in to gain consumer data. ordering merchandise or choosing songs online, users give device companies a wealth of data that can be used to offer additional products and services, said Kitty Fok, China managing director at consulting firm IDC.Baidu's Raven H can hail a taxi, play a song or search for information on the company's search engine. The second product, Raven R, is a stationary robot that provides similar functions as the Raven H, but can also move on an axis, allowing it to dance along to music.Unlike other smart speakers that are controlled only by voice, Raven H has a base with a detachable touch screen, allowing a user to move about the home and control the device directly. It will be available next month for 1,699 yuan ($257).Baidu didn't announce the price for the Raven R, which will be available next spring along with a third smart-home product, the Raven Q.Write to Alyssa Abkowitz at [email protected] (END) Dow Jones NewswiresNovember 17, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.SAGE
sage in the hills
15 Nov 2017
Massive net profit rise at Tencent Tencent Third-Quarter Net Profit Rises Nearly 70%, Beating Estimates -- 2nd Update15/11/2017 3:21pmDow Jones NewsTencent Holding Ltd. (PC) (USOTC:TCEHY)Intraday Stock ChartToday : Wednesday 15 November 2017Click Here for more Tencent Holding Ltd. (PC) Charts.Alyssa Abkowitz in Beijing and Chester Yung in Hong Kong Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. continued its winning streak, reporting earnings that rose nearly 70% from a year earlier, driven by growth in mobile-gaming and advertising sales, particularly on the company's video-streaming platform.Shares of the Shenzhen, China-based company have more than doubled since Jan. 1, raising its market capitalization to nearly $466 billion. Tencent also made headlines last week when it bought a 12% stake in U.S. social media company Snap Inc., becoming one of its largest shareholders.On a conference call with investors Wednesday, Tencent President Martin Lau said the company saw an opportunity to acquire Snap shares at "a pretty attractive price" and said Tencent may look to do "something more strategic with them" in the future.Profits handily beat Wall Street's expectations, reaching 18 billion yuan ($2.71 billion) from 10.6 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenues climbed 61% to 65.2 billion yuan from 40.3 billion yuan. The company reported after the close of trading in Hong Kong Wednesday, where shares closed down 1.3%.Heavy spending on video content is starting to pay off for Tencent, which at the end of September was the No. 1 video-streaming service in paid subscriptions, according to data firm App Annie. Tencent now has more than 43 million paying subscribers, up from 20 million in November 2016.The company also said revenues from video advertising grew 70% from the year-earlier period, which helped contribute to overall online advertising revenue increasing 48% from the year-ago period."While the video sector as a whole is still making losses, we will continue to invest in the long run," Mr. Lau said, adding that video is an important component of the firm's cross-media strategy.Video-streaming is a hotly contested area for Tencent and its other tech rivals, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. Tencent and Baidu, particularly, have been going back and forth to woo paid subscribers with a mix of exclusive and licensed content. Mr. Lau said Tencent had made headway in expanding its young female user base in drama, the most popular genre, and in scheduling programming to optimize viewership.The bulk of Tencent's revenues continued to come from games. Smartphone gaming revenues rose 84% from a year earlier, anchored by smash hit battle game "Honor of Kings."The company's messaging, mobile-payment and social-media platform, WeChat, which is the most popular app in China, reached 980 million users at the end up September, up 16% from a year earlier.Its other businesses, including mobile payments and cloud services, recorded revenue growth of 143% from the year-ago period. The company said payment volume from mobile payments in brick-and-mortar stores rose 280%.Mr. Lau said overseas growth of WeChat Pay will be serving Chinese tourists, and that globally, the company is pursuing a "partnership strategy" with local players instead of competing with them.On the heels of Tencent's successful spinoff of its online publishing business, China Literature Ltd., Tencent executives noted that as investee companies reach maturity, the company will look to make them go public but that homegrown businesses make more sense to "stay together so they can reinforce each other."Write to Alyssa Abkowitz at [email protected] and Chester Yung at [email protected] (END) Dow Jones NewswiresNovember 15, 2017 106 ET (156 GMT)Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.SAGE
Cantseethewoodsforthetrees
08 Nov 2017
Times 7 Nov SMT-buyScottish Mortgage offers an easy way of investing in high-tech growth companies such as Amazon, Facebook and three Chinese internet stocks. Although income from the shares is limited, its long-term record on capital appreciation is good.Investors in Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust cannot say they do not know what they are getting. The trust reiterated its strategy in last week’s half-year figures: “Scottish Mortgage is best suited to those who share its long-term approach to investing.”This is a conviction investor, willing to hold stakes for five years or more and with only 75 holdings, the top 30 accounting for 85 per cent of all assets and the top ten for more than half. Investors who have been in for the long haul can have little to complain about.The net asset value per share rose by 17.5 per cent over the first half, while its share price rose by 15.4 per cent. It is not easy to find a comparator for a trust of this nature, but world equity markets did little over that period in sterling terms.Over the five years to the end of September the total return was 222.8 per cent. Net assets per share were ahead by 193.1 per cent. A passive investor would have seen about half that total return.Scottish Mortgage, after strong share price growth over the past couple of years, is the biggest quoted investment trust. Its stable of mainly high-tech investments have been selected because they can be expected to at least double sales over a five-year period.The trust sold out of Apple, for example, the world’s biggest company, because the managers do not expect that sort of sales progress in future. Instead they are focused on disruptors such as Amazon, Tesla, the electric vehicle maker, and three Chinese internet companies: Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu.com.The share prices in these businesses have been especially strong over the first half to the end of September.About 13 per cent of the fund is invested in private companies, while there is the authority to take this to 25 per cent. Among these are Spotify, the digital music service with more than 60 million subscribers, and Airbnb, the online provider of accommodation. This gives access to early-stage investments that are not easily available elsewhere.This is a significant advantage, offering the sort of returns that would generally only be available to private equity.Scottish Mortgage believes the next growth area could be healthcare, through the development of personalised treatments and diagnosis. This explains the investment in Illumina, a San Diegobased business that develops products for gene sequencing.There is the facility to buy back shares to keep the net asset value aligned with the share price. The trust’s performance has tended to track that of Nasdaq, though it has outperformed the high-tech US market of late.Only 4 per cent of Scottish Mortgage is in the UK, so its geographic diversification is another advantage. There is, perhaps surprisingly, a dividend — investors have indicated they would expect some sort of income stream even if the main point in holding the shares is capital appreciation.The payment has generally increased over the past three decades although this year’s payment is expected to be merely maintained, and the managers have indicated a willingness to make any future payments out of capital if necessary.Scottish Mortgage will inevitably suffer if markets are in turmoil, but the shares offer exposure to growth tech stocks.
Buy and hold
13 Oct 2017
Re: Just a thought I agree that putting all one's eggs in one basket is not sensible. The conundrum is that until fairly recently SMT's holdings were (in my view) diverse enough that SMT in itself constituted a diverse investment. Now it has become much more of a technology trust, even though its stated objectives haven't changed. So it seems that either you continue to put confidence in the management, which has been justified so far, or decide that SMT is no longer the company you originally decided to invest in and look elsewhere.
