这一转变可从数字中看出：若排除专门的私募股权工具，投资信托在 5 年内将未上市持股增加了 65%，达到 £13.4bn。Scottish Mortgage 在 3 月寻求批准，想把其未上市资产 30% 的上限提高，因为 SpaceX 在其投资组合中的比重已升至 15% 以上。Baillie Gifford 是一个主要例子，其 £850mn 的 US Growth Trust 中未上市持股占 41%，£15bn 的 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust 中占 37%，而其 £820mn 的 Edinburgh Worldwide trust 中占 29%。它在 SpaceX、Anthropic 和 ByteDance 上都有大赢家，但在瑞典电池制造商 Northvolt 失利后，该持股也已归零。
文章认为，与开放式基金相比，封闭式信托在结构上更适合持有缺乏流动性的资产，因为每日交易可能带来估值与流动性压力；Woodford 的基金在 2019 年暂停申赎是值得警惕的前例，而一支在美国上市的 ETF 在赎回后，已将 SpaceX 持仓提高到 44%。表现则喜忧参半：在过去 3 年，RIT Capital Partners 的价格报酬为 25%，NAV 报酬为 27%；Scottish Mortgage 的价格报酬为 84%，NAV 报酬为 58%；US Growth 的价格报酬为 103%，NAV 报酬为 66%；Schiehallion 的价格报酬为 174%，NAV 报酬为 51%，甚至还以高于 NAV 的溢价交易。但在过去 5 年，私有资产的表现看起来要弱得多，因为估值不透明、定期的大幅重估、行动主义压力，以及外界持续质疑需求是否真的具有广泛基础，尽管投资者对 SpaceX 和 Databricks 等名字抱有兴趣。
UK investment trusts are expanding into private equity and other unlisted holdings to let retail investors access companies such as SpaceX, Anthropic, and ByteDance before public listings. The appeal is driven by a market where companies stay private much longer, with the average period rising to 11 years from 6.9 years in 2014, and where unicorn returns have been strong: the Morningstar PitchBook Global Unicorn Index is up 677% since 2014 versus 210% for large and mid-cap listed stocks. Several trusts now hold SpaceX at an $800bn valuation, well below the $1.75tn target reportedly linked to its possible June IPO.
The shift is visible in the numbers: excluding dedicated private equity vehicles, investment trusts increased non-listed holdings by 65% over 5 years to £13.4bn. Scottish Mortgage sought approval in March to lift its 30% cap on unlisted assets after SpaceX rose above 15% of its portfolio. Baillie Gifford is a major example, with unlisted holdings of 41% in its £850mn US Growth Trust, 37% in its £15bn Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, and 29% in its £820mn Edinburgh Worldwide trust. It has had big winners in SpaceX, Anthropic, and ByteDance, but also a zeroed-out Northvolt stake after the Swedish battery maker failed.
The article argues that closed-ended trusts are structurally better suited than open-ended funds to holding illiquid assets, because daily dealing can create valuation and liquidity stress; Woodford’s fund suspension in 2019 is the cautionary precedent, and one US-listed ETF has already reached 44% in SpaceX after redemptions. Performance is mixed: over 3 years, RIT Capital Partners returned 25% in price terms and 27% in NAV terms; Scottish Mortgage returned 84% in price and 58% in NAV; US Growth returned 103% in price and 66% in NAV; and Schiehallion returned 174% in price and 51% in NAV, even trading at a premium to NAV. But over 5 years, private asset performance looks much weaker, with valuation opacity, large periodic revaluations, activist pressure, and ongoing questions about whether demand is truly broad-based despite investor interest in names like SpaceX and Databricks.