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Activist Demands Board Ouster Over Tech Fund's Woes
27 Nov
Summary
- Activist investor calls for removal of the entire tech fund board.
- Fund's net asset value dropped 30.8% over five years.
- Elon Musk's SpaceX constitutes 8.4% of the fund's portfolio.
Activist investor Boaz Weinstein has initiated a campaign to oust the entire board of the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWIT), a tech-focused fund managed by Baillie Gifford. Weinstein, through his firm Saba Capital which controls approximately 30% of the trust's shares, contends that the board has demonstrated "unprecedented" value destruction and a categorical failure to meet shareholder expectations.
The trust's portfolio is characterized by investments in emerging and innovative public and private tech companies. Notably, Elon Musk's SpaceX accounts for a significant 8.4% of its holdings. This strategic focus has not translated into positive returns, as the fund's net asset value has fallen by 30.8% over the last five years.
This decline is starkly contrasted with its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, which has seen a 71.4% increase during the same period. Saba Capital's analysis highlights that EWIT's net asset value and share price performance have lagged the benchmark by over 100%, prompting the call for drastic leadership changes.
