Key Takeaways
- Large language model developers Anthropic and OpenAI are set to announce high-profile IPOs in the coming months.
- A handful of UK investment trusts have exposure to the Anthropic IPO, with Baillie Gifford US Growth holding the largest exposure.
- The US trust also opened a small position in the ChatGPT developer at the start of the year, Baillie Gifford has revealed.
After SpaceX’s SPCX blockbuster IPO, two more bumper market debuts are set to follow in quick succession: large language model developers Anthropic and OpenAI.
According to media reports, Anthropic is eyeing an IPO in the coming months, and is expected to unveil its prospectus this week. If the Claude developer does float, the market debut is expected to eclipse SpaceX as the largest IPO in history.
UK investment trusts are often a preferred vehicle for accessing pre-IPO stocks because, unlike open-end funds, they are allowed to hold as much as 60% in unlisted companies.
Three investment trusts, all managed by Edinburgh-based asset manager Baillie Gifford, currently have sizable exposure to Anthropic. The asset manager has also told Morningstar that its US Growth Trust bought a small stake in OpenAI at the start of the year.
The largest of these trusts is Scottish Mortgage SMT, which has a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Gold. The £16 billion investment trust, the largest of its kind in the UK, has 2.8% of the portfolio invested in Anthropic, making it the eighth largest holding.
Earlier this year, Scottish Mortgage gave UK investors early access to SpaceX prior to its listing. However, the trust’s investment in Anthropic is much smaller than the 18.1% currently invested in SpaceX.
“The managers focus on identifying high-growth companies and holding them for the very long term to benefit from underappreciated compounded growth,” says Morningstar fund analyst Michael Born.
“These companies are typically new entrants or disruptors, radically changing the landscape and challenging incumbents’ business models, and are typically founder-led,” he says.
The £933 million Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust USA has the largest exposure to Anthropic at 6.6% of its total portfolio—making it the fourth largest holding. Like Scottish Mortgage, the investment trust also has significant exposure to SpaceX, with the company its largest position.
Baillie Gifford’s private equity-focused Schiehallion MNTN investment trust also has exposure to Anthropic, which comprises 5.9% of its portfolio.
Meanwhile, RIT Capital Partners RCP and Pantheon International PIN have both previously reported small positions in Anthropic.
How Do IPOs Affect Investment Trust Share Prices?
While investment trusts trade their shares like publicly listed companies, their share prices can move differently to the value of its underlying holdings, or net asset value.
Demand for investment trusts with pre-IPO exposure can cause share prices to rise above the value of its holdings, as was the case at Scottish Mortgage before SpaceX’s June 12 IPO.
Having started the year with its shares trading 10% below the value of the investment trust’s portfolio, shares surged to a premium in the run up to SpaceX’s listing. Following the IPO, shares reverted to a discount of around 6%.
Options for Investors Keen to Back OpenAI
Compared to Anthropic, UK investors have fewer paths to invest in OpenAI before its stock market debut, which is expected in 2027. Still, Baillie Gifford US Growth currently has a 0.9% position in the company, the only major investment trust to offer exposure.
Ireland-listed ARK Private Innovation ELTIF, which has significant exposure to OpenAI, is also available to UK retail investors through investment platforms such as Wealth Club, which offers products to high net-worth individuals. European Long-Term Investment Funds allow retail access to private markets, and are mirrored in the UK by LTAFs, or Long-Term Asset Funds.
The £10.6 million fund, which launched in July 2026, has 30% of its portfolio invested in the ChatGPT company.
Alongside AI, the ARK strategy also invests in private companies linked to themes including robotics, energy storage, and blockchain technology.
As a semiliquid fund, it has quarterly liquidity periods, during which up to 5% of the fund’s overall net asset value can be withdrawn.
