By Frank Daubenton, CFP®

SpaceX is one of the most talked-about investment opportunities of the current decade. It has evolved far beyond the image of a startup, becoming a strategically important business in aerospace, communications and internet infrastructure through initiatives like Starlink. Yet despite its prominence, SpaceX remains unlisted, which means investors cannot simply buy shares through a conventional investment account.

This raises an obvious question: how do ordinary investors gain exposure to a company like SpaceX?

For most people, direct access is not possible. Historically, investments in private companies have been dominated by founders, insiders, venture capital firms, institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth families. By the time many innovative businesses eventually list publicly, a meaningful portion of the growth story may already have unfolded.

This creates an important challenge for portfolio construction. Much of the world’s innovation occurs before companies become publicly traded. The question then becomes whether investors can gain exposure to these themes responsibly, without relying on speculation or exclusive access.

The answer often lies in specialist investment structures.

Certain investment trusts, including those listed on major exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange, are permitted to invest in both listed and unlisted companies. This creates indirect access to private businesses that would otherwise remain unavailable to most investors. One example is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, a globally recognised long-term growth investment trust that has invested in SpaceX alongside a range of other innovative businesses.

At Galileo Asset Managers, some clients with higher risk tolerance mandates have gained exposure to SpaceX through this type of specialist investment structure. Importantly, clients did not invest directly into SpaceX, nor did portfolios seek out speculative private market opportunities in isolation.

Instead, exposure emerged as part of a broader investment philosophy focused on long-term growth, global diversification and access to specialist strategies. SpaceX formed one component within diversified portfolios designed to participate in innovation themes over time.

That distinction matters.

Clients did not invest because of SpaceX. They gained exposure to SpaceX because of how their portfolios were constructed.

This reflects a broader principle in investing. Long-term outcomes are rarely driven by successfully predicting a single company. More often, they come from building diversified portfolios capable of participating in multiple structural opportunities while managing risk appropriately.

The story of SpaceX exposure is therefore not really a story about one company. It is a story about portfolio construction, diversification and recognising that some of the world’s most important innovations happen outside traditional stock market indices.

Successful investing is rarely about chasing headlines. It is more often about being positioned thoughtfully before those headlines arrive.

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