The Baillie Gifford-managed £830 million Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust plc (EWIT) said on Tuesday its other shareholders overwhelmingly rejected proposals by New York hedge fund Saba Capital Management to remove all six of the fund’s independent non-executive directors and appoint three US-based individuals nominated by Saba.
Via a Requisitioned General Meeting of Edinburgh Worldwide, none of the resolutions proposed by Saba Capital Management were passed. Saba says it is the “beneficial owner of interests in approximately 30%” of Edinburgh Worldwide.
“Excluding shares held by Saba, shareholders representing 92.7% of the shares voted rejected Saba’s proposals,” said Edinburgh Worldwide.
“Of the total votes cast, 53.2% of shares were voted against Saba’s resolutions, in line with the recommendation of the independent board.
“Shareholders representing over 70% of the total issued share capital voted on the resolutions, a record shareholder turnout, exceeding the turn out at last year’s requisitioned general meeting.
“This level of shareholder participation in the vote was supported by a high level of engagement by retail shareholders who hold their shares through digital platforms.
“The vote has been supervised by Civica Election Services, whom the board appointed as independent assessor to report on the poll held at the Requisitioned General Meeting in respect of each of the requisitioned resolutions.”
Jonathan Simpson-Dent, Chair of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, said: “For the second time in less than a year, Edinburgh Worldwide’s shareholders have voted decisively to reject Saba’s proposal to install its own nominees to the Board and the uncertainty that would have entailed.
“Shareholders have clearly stated their preference for EWIT’s unique and differentiated mandate, investing in some of the world’s most exciting and transformative companies. The board is resolutely focused on building momentum through the Path for Growth strategy which has delivered strong returns for shareholders since its implementation.
“Saba remains our largest shareholder and we will continue to seek constructive engagement with them to develop potential solutions that allow us to move forward.
“Following a year of significant and costly distraction, we are ready to return our full attention to our primary purpose: investing in innovation, transformation, and exceptional potential in a way that respects the clear wishes expressed by the majority of shareholders both last February and again today.
“I would like to thank shareholders for their strong engagement, rigorous scrutiny, and continued support for Edinburgh Worldwide over the last 12 months.”
Richard Stone, CEO of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “This second win for Edinburgh Worldwide against Saba Capital shows how much ordinary investors value their investment trust. Shareholders turned out in force to reject the replacement of the independent board with three new directors nominated by Saba.
“Once again, the vote has highlighted the importance of broad shareholder participation so that low turnouts don’t hand victory to large minority shareholders by default. We will continue to press the government to follow through on its promise to bring shareholder voting into the digital age by implementing the Bill of Shareholder Rights recommended by the Digitisation Taskforce.
“Across the investment trust industry, independent boards continue to work hard to deliver for their shareholders. Last year we saw a record number of deals, share buybacks and fee changes and corporate activity is continuing at pace in 2026.”