They voted at its AGM in London by a 52.8% majority against activist Saba Capital Management’s attempts to have three directors –  Jason Chen, James Waterlow and Thomas McGlade – elected to the board.

Special resolutions regarding the disapplication of pre-emption rights and market purchases of shares, also failed to pass, with 36.6% and 36.4% of votes against them respectively.

The board of the Edinburgh-based trust noted that votes against these resolutions were primarily from Boaz Weinstein’s Saba and Sessa Capital, and excluding their votes, 99.2% of other shareholders’ votes aligned with the board’s recommendations. The company said it will engage with Saba and Sessa Capital to seek a long-term solution.

The votes were always going to be close given that Saba holds a 29% stake and had the support of another hedge fund, Sessa Capital, on 7.7%.

Trust chairman Tom Burnet, one of four incumbents re-elected, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to pass our gratitude to our independent shareholders for their continued support.

“Those shareholders have again delivered a clear and decisive verdict. They have overwhelmingly rejected Saba’s nominees. For the third time, they have also expressed their clear support for the current board.

“Repeatedly revisiting matters on which almost all of our independent shareholders have plainly already expressed their view places an unnecessary burden on the company, diverting management time and resources from the delivery of the company’s strategy and the creation of long-term shareholder value and incurring significant costs.”

He added: “Baillie Gifford US Growth is a unique investment trust, offering investors access in scale to the most exciting public and private investments in the US.

“Since USA’s launch in 2018, it has generated returns in the top decile of all UK-listed investment companies and the top decile of all US-focused open-ended funds globally. We are pleased the AGM result represents a clear endorsement from the vast majority of independent shareholders for the current differentiated and high performing strategy to continue.

“We strongly welcome the reforms under consideration by the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority], and the efforts of the AIC [Association of Investment Companies] and others, to strengthen protections for all shareholders.

“It is critical that these new rules take effect as soon as is practicable so that trusts are better protected from opportunism that is not in the interests of shareholders as a whole.”