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Baillie Gifford American Class B - Income (GBP)

Sell:1,347.00p Buy:1,347.00p Change: 5.00p (0.37%)
Prices as at 2 April 2026
Sell:1,347.00p
Buy:1,347.00p
Change: 5.00p (0.37%)
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now
Prices as at 2 April 2026
Sell:1,347.00p
Buy:1,347.00p
Change: 5.00p (0.37%)
Prices as at 2 April 2026
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now
The selling price currently displayed is higher than the buying price. This can occur temporarily for a variety of reasons; shortly before the market opens, after the market closes or because of extraordinary price volatility during the trading day.

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Our view on this Fund

This fund does not feature on the Wealth Shortlist of funds our analysts believe have the potential to outperform their peers over the long term. This is not a recommendation to sell; however, if you are thinking of adding to your investments, we believe the Wealth Shortlist is a good place to start. View funds on the Wealth Shortlist »

This fund provides exposure to Baillie Gifford’s long standing investment philosophy of investing in exceptional US growth businesses. The managers’ long-term time horizon and the fund’s concentrated nature mean we have always expected performance to be volatile and look very different to the benchmark and peers at times. The fund can also invest in smaller companies, which are higher risk.

However, in recent years the level of volatility has been higher than we expect and has increased compared with peers. In addition to higher levels of volatility, performance and stock-picking has recently been challenged and the fund hasn’t performed as well as its benchmark and some of its peers in recent years.

As a result, we no longer believe that clients are being adequately compensated for taking on this level of risk and we removed the fund from the Wealth Shortlist in April 2026.

We continue to believe the managers’ long term approach of focusing on exceptional US growth opportunities has the potential to deliver strong performance over the very long term. However, we believe it is suited to investors that can accept higher levels of volatility in their search for long-term returns.

Our view on the sector

UK investors need little introduction to America. It's the world's biggest stock market and is home to world-leading companies in almost every industry there is, from media and film, through to manufacturing and transportation. We think most diversified portfolios should have some exposure to the US market. But it's one of the most heavily researched in the world so share prices of well-known companies can react quickly to new information. We think this can make it more difficult for fund managers to find opportunities missed by others and to consistently perform better than the broader market over the long term. Many funds investing in the US aim to grow the value of your original investment, rather than pay a high level of income. Some focus on the largest companies in the market. Others look for opportunities amongst small and medium-sized companies, which may offer greater growth potential, but are higher risk.

Performance Analysis

The fund aims to outperform the S&P 500 index after costs over any five year period. This has not been achieved in recent years. Our analysis suggests the managers’ stock selection hasn’t been as strong and the fund has lagged the benchmark over the last 10 years this is despite the funds growth style of investing being mostly in favour for this time. .

When the manager's growth-focused investment style is out of favour, investors are less willing to pay up for companies with high growth potential and so we wouldn't expect the fund to perform as well in this environment. However, the reverse is also true.

Investors should note that investment styles come in and out of favour. As a result, it's important to maintain a diversified investment portfolio, spread across different geographies and investment styles.

Investment Philosophy

The managers believe few companies can deliver exceptional returns over the long run, so they manage a relatively concentrated fund of between 30 and 50 companies. These are companies they believe have excellent growth potential and each one can contribute significantly to returns, although this approach increases risk.

Process and Portfolio Construction

The managers invest in companies with high growth potential that they think could be capable of delivering exceptional returns over the long run. They believe that companies with resilient business models are good long-term investments and that corporate culture can be a key component of company performance and ultimately investor returns, although of course there are no guarantees.

Culture is difficult to measure and capture. But the managers believe it's one of the most underappreciated drivers of long-term returns. Companies with a strong culture are often adaptable, durable and willing to invest for the future at the expense of short-term profits. And although there's no exact science, they believe that it's these kind of companies that are often the ones to really deliver on their vision and purpose. Founder involvement is another element that the managers view positively. They believe these individuals, who usually still have much of their wealth tied up in the business, often possess the strong vision that's required to continue to grow the company.

The managers spend a lot of time thinking about industry dynamics and the powerful trends developing across the economy. Many of these businesses disrupt old ways of doing things and they have grouped these into distinct areas. In 2025 the team put restrictions on how much could be invested in these distinct areas to help limit unwanted correlation.

question mark Manager Track Record Based on HL Quantitative Research

This information is currently unavailable.

Fund Track Record

02/04/21 to 02/04/22 02/04/22 to 02/04/23 02/04/23 to 02/04/24 02/04/24 to 02/04/25 02/04/25 to 02/04/26
Annual return -24.84% -24.61% 29.88% 5.13% 1.05%

Please remember past performance is not a guide to future returns. Where no data is shown, figures are not available. This information is provided to help you choose your own investments, remember they can fall as well as rise in value so you may not get back the original amount invested.

Information about the fund

Fund manager biography

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Manager Name: Gary Robinson
Manager start date: 1 May 2014
Manager located in: Edinburgh

Gary is an investment manager in the US Equity Growth Team. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2003 and became a partner in 2019. He worked on our Japanese, UK and European Equity teams before joining the US Equity Growth Team in 2008. Gary is a generalist investor but retains a special interest in the healthcare sector, dating back to his undergraduate degree. He graduated MBiochem in Biochemistry from Oxford University in 2003.

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Manager Name: Dave Bujnowski
Manager start date: 1 June 2020
Manager located in: Edinburgh

Dave is an investment manager in the US Equity Growth Team. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2018 and became a partner in 2021. Before joining the firm, he co-founded Coburn Ventures in 2005. The company studies change to understand what shapes investment opportunities. Dave has also held various hedge fund roles. He began his career in 1996 at Warburg Dillon before joining UBS. Dave graduated from Boston College in 1993, where he majored in Finance and Philosophy.

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Manager Name: Tom Slater
Manager start date: 4 January 2016
Manager located in: Edinburgh

Tom is head of the US Equities Team. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2000 and became a partner in 2012. After serving as deputy manager for five years, Tom was appointed joint manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust in 2015. During his time at Baillie Gifford, he has also worked in the Developed Asia, UK Equity and Long-Term Global Growth teams. Tom's investment interest is focused on high growth companies both in listed equity markets and as an investor in private companies. He graduated BSc in Computer Science with Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh in 2000.

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Manager Name: Kirsty Gibson
Manager start date: 1 January 2018
Manager located in: Edinburgh

Kirsty is an investment manager in the US Equity Growth Team. She joined Baillie Gifford in 2012 and became a partner in 2025. Kirsty has been involved in running the North American portfolio of the Managed and Global Core (UK) Strategies since 2021. Prior to joining the US Equity Growth Team, Kirsty also spent several years in the small and large-cap global equities departments. She graduated MA (Hons) in Economics in 2011 and MSc in Carbon Management in 2012, both from the University of Edinburgh.

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Manager Name: Lillian Li
Manager start date: 31 January 2026
Manager located in: Edinburgh

Lillian is an investment manager in the US Equity Growth Team and has been a decision maker since 2026. She joined Baillie Gifford in 2022. Before joining the firm, she worked at Eight Roads Ventures (Fidelity's VC arm) and Salesforce Ventures, where she led investments in growth-stage private companies across the US and Europe. Lillian also founded Chinese Characteristics, an acclaimed publication analysing US and Chinese innovation ecosystems. She holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a Masters in International Development from LSE.

Data policy - All information should be used for indicative purposes only. You should independently check data before making any investment decision. HL cannot guarantee that the data is accurate or complete, and accepts no responsibility for how it may be used. Benchmark data provided subject to this disclaimer.
You can buy or sell holdings in this fund through a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP or Fund and Share Account
Invest now