Two FTSE 100 investment trusts that could help you retire early

The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT) regularly ranks as one of the best in the UK, and for good reason. 

Managed by James Anderson since 2000, the company is heavily invested in the market’s top tech stocks, companies that Anderson believes will continue to dominate not just the online retail space, but the internet in general for many decades. 

The top three holdings of the trust, accounting for just over 25% of assets, are Amazon.com, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba. These companies have transformed the internet landscape over the past few decades, and their continued dominance of the space indicates that they are likely to continue to rule the web for many years to come. 

In fact, according to a recent interview in MoneyWeek, the team believes Amazon is not “anywhere close to the end of its period of increasing dominance” and that investors have barely begun to “grapple with” the “awesome” power of “Alibaba and Tencent.“

International exposure 

The great thing about Scottish Mortgage is that it allows the average investor to take part in these internet giants’ growth stories without having to take on the additional risks that come with investing overseas. Anderson and team take care of all the hard work for you, allowing you to sit back and relax. 

The FTSE 100 trust’s record of producing returns for investors is so impressive, I believe it’s one of the best investments around for your retirement portfolio. Over the past five years, the investment vehicle has returned 191%, smashing the FTSE 100 performance over the same period of 15%. 

Multi-decade record 

Another investment company I believe could make an excellent investment for your retirement portfolio is Pershing Square Holdings (LSE: PSH). 

This business has several fundamental differences from Scottish Mortage. For a start, rather than an investment trust, it’s an investment vehicle for the US activist investor Bill Ackman. 

A former star of the hedge fund industry, Ackman’s star began to fade in 2015 when his significant investment in pharmaceutical company Valeant went pear-shaped and ever since he has been trying to make a comeback. 

Unfortunately, last year Pershing’s net asset value lost 4% extending the declines reported over the past three years. However, despite these three years of terrible performance, since Pershing’s founding in January 2004, the firm has produced a compound annual return of 13.6%, more than double the FTSE 100’s yearly gain over the same period. 

Once again, I believe Pershing gives UK investors a great, low effort way to profit from international growth. The two top holdings of the investment firm are US businesses, Restaurant Brands International and Automatic Data Processing, Inc., both of which Ackman is working with to unlock value for investors. And as a bonus, the shares are currently trading at a discount of 23% to the reported net asset value of 1,135p.