Baillie Gifford’s £2.9 billion Monks Investment Trust plc said its net asset value (NAV) total return was 29.3% in the year to April 30, 2026, and share price total return was 35.6%.

Over the same period, the comparative FTSE World Index return was 31%.

The global investment trust’s share price discount to NAV narrowed materially during the period, ending the year at 5.7% on a fair value basis compared to 10.1% at the prior year end.

The top five contributors to Monks’ relative performance for the year were the Baillie Gifford-run private companies investment trust The Schiehallion Fund, TSMC, Samsung Electronis, Comfort Systems USA and FTAI Aviation.

“A clear theme runs through the top contributors: bottlenecks in the AI hardware build‑out,” wrote managers Michael Taylor, Malcolm MacColl and Helen Xiong.

“Demand for AI applications continues to outstrip supply. Companies that control the key pinch points in scaling that supply are seeing profits grow rapidly.

“TSMC, Samsung, Comfort Systems and FTAI Aviation are all clear examples. TSMC is the dominant producer of cutting‑edge chips used to train leading AI models, with over 90% share in manufacturing the most advanced chips.

“Despite its typically conservative guidance, it expects AI revenue growth of more than 50% per year through 2029. That sort of growth justifies its position as the portfolio’s largest.

“Other bottlenecks include memory, power and datacentre cooling equipment, where more complex and energy‑hungry models are driving a surge in demand for all three.

“Samsung is one of only three providers of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which is needed to push the limits of AI.

“Comfort Systems, a leading supplier and installer of cooling equipment, has reported similarly booming profits and a rapidly expanding order book, while FTAI Aviation has repurposed its pool of aircraft engines, not for airlines but for powering datacentres.

“We decided to trim our holdings in Samsung and Comfort Systems as their share prices have nearly quadrupled over the last 12 months.

“However, we decided to sell out of FTAI completely as its move to use its aircraft engines to power datacentres is a more uncertain departure from its core business and valuation had become elevated. We may revisit this in time. Considering the uncertainty around AI, we will continue to manage our overall exposure carefully.

“The final contributor was Schiehallion, the private companies investment trust, whose underlying portfolio of more than 40 companies, such as European software company Bending Spoons and rocket company SpaceX, has performed well.

“Private market returns are often driven by a small number of exceptional winners. Our investment in Schiehallion, run by Baillie Gifford’s Private Companies team, gives us access to a broader range of exciting unlisted businesses and helps us benefit from the asymmetric nature of private market returns.”