THE £6 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has declared that global equity markets have “weathered” a raft of geopolitical storms as it reported a 17.5 per cent increase in net asset value (NAV) per share in the six months to September 30, outperforming its benchmark index.

Baillie Gifford’s flagship investment trust, managed by James Anderson and Tom Slater, saw its share price rise by 15.4 per cent, narrowing the discount of its share price to its net asset value. That came as its benchmark FSTE All-World Index gained one per cent in sterling terms over the period.

Although the period saw tensions rise over North Korea and US president Donald Trump continue to generate controversy, as well as the “ongoing saga around Britain’s exit from the European Union”, the trust said global markets “seem to have weathered the various geopolitical events of the summer almost with equanimity”.

The Edinburgh-based trust, which holds stakes in Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Alphabet and Alibaba, added: “This might have surprised many investors, had they been asked to predict the outcome of such events even just a year ago. The managers do not attempt to make such forecasts. What can be said with confidence is that the Managers will remain focused on the prospects of the underlying operational businesses in the portfolio over their investment time horizon.”