Capital at risk
Japan All Cap
Japan offers the unexpected. Global leading manufacturers, premium Asian brands and emerging digital disruptors.
The Japan All Cap Strategy looks beneath the surface and beyond the headlines to capture these opportunities. Each portfolio holding is selected on its own merits and long-term earnings growth potential.
Backing businesses, not the economy
By focusing on the fundamentals, we aim to uncover Japan’s mispriced and often underappreciated opportunities.
Japanese Equities: our philosophy
Investment manager Donald Farquharson introduces Japanese Equities, reflecting on the exciting opportunities ahead.
Aiming for outperformance
Japan All Cap is long-term focused. We aim to outperform the TOPIX Index by 2 per cent per annum over rolling five-year periods.
Our portfolio contains 45-65 holdings. We seek to take advantage of market inefficiencies by investing across different types of growth company which, given our time horizon, allows us the opportunity to take advantage of their idiosyncratic growth opportunities.
We find these companies through bottom-up research, holding on for the long term and aiming to capture the benefits of compounded growth.
Being patient with potential
We aim to capture growth in all its forms – from secular opportunities in emerging digital disruptors to the enduring growth of stalwart franchises to special situations of corporate reform.
The patience with which we pursue this broad base of potential is a product of our pedigree. Having launched specialist mandates in the 1980s, we’re one of the few who’ve been doing this for over 40 years.
Our experience of Japan’s rich history offers us an insight into the significant structural changes at play here.
A classic analogy for competitive advantage is moats: we’re not interested in how deep the moat will be in the immediate future but in how deep it will be in five years’ time and beyond.
Meet the manager
Matthew Brett
Matthew is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2003 and became a partner in 2018. He is manager of the Japanese Fund (and related All Cap Strategy segregated accounts), manager of the Baillie Gifford Japan Trust and co-manager of the Japanese Income Growth Fund. Matthew graduated BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Psychology) from the University of Cambridge in 2000 and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Bristol.
Documents
Philosophy and process
Explore our investment philosophy and the processes around how the team constructs the portfolio.
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Strategy portfolio holdings
A list of the top 10 holdings that the representative portfolio invests in.
All figures up to: 31 March 2024
| # | Holding | % of portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SoftBank Group | 7.3% |
| 2 | Rakuten | 4.9% |
| 3 | Sumitomo Mitsui Trust | 4.8% |
| 4 | SBI Holdings | 4.2% |
| 5 | MS&AD Insurance | 4.2% |
| 6 | Nintendo | 3.5% |
| 7 | GMO Internet | 3.4% |
| 8 | CyberAgent | 3.1% |
| 9 | Bridgestone | 2.9% |
| 10 | Japan Exchange Group | 2.9% |
Please note
The information contained on this page is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon when making investment decisions. All holdings information is unaudited. Source Baillie Gifford & Co. Please note that totals may not add due to rounding.
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Insights
Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:
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Insights
Japanese Equities Q1 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
The fresh face of Japanese finance
New online services are transforming Japanese financial habits.
Japan Stewardship Report
For the year ended September 2023.
Japanese Equities Q4 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Stock story: SoftBank
Matthew Brett discusses SoftBank and considers Japan’s exciting technological future.
Why growth, why now?
Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.
Spotting the stars amid a surge
Rising Japanese markets are flattering old-style companies: better to look for long-term growth.
Japan’s new growth opportunities
Seeking the entrepreneurial firms that could sustain the country’s rally.
Japanese Equities Q3 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Japanese Equities
Investment manager, Donald Farquharson, discusses the Baillie Gifford approach to Japanese Equities.
Japan’s place in the chip market
The Japanese semiconductor companies set to benefit from the rise of 5G and electric cars.
Japanese Equities update
Fund manager Matthew Brett and investment specialist Thomas Patchett discuss growth investing in Japan.
Investing in Japan: the country’s underappreciated edge
Matthew Brett explains why inflation and a falling yen make Japan an exciting place for investors.
Success after succession.
How can founder-defined companies – from Nidec to Nintendo – ensure success when it’s time for a new CEO?
The strengths of Japanese company culture
Companies such as Mercari that know that trying new things is the secret to growth.
Sysmex’s quest to diagnose disease.
Kobe medical diagnostics company is well-placed to capitalise on therapy breakthroughs.
Four decades of lessons.
Japan’s ability to anticipate technological change should see it through the ups and downs to come.
Investing in Japan: What’s changed and what’s next?
Over four decades Japan has seen 21 prime ministers come and go. Exporters such as Toyota and Toshiba have flourished but the country has also struggled with debt and deflation. Matthew Brett, investment manager, discusses what’s next.
The return of the durable winners
Japan’s big brands are back, thanks to Chinese consumers, digitisation and better governance.
How Japan weathered Covid
The resilience of the Japanese economy still managed to deliver dividends despite the pandemic.
Adapting to disrupt
In Japan as elsewhere, companies that can adapt quickly often have the most success.
SBI: Japan’s fintech frontrunner
How an entrepreneurial tech company disrupted the world of Japanese financial services.
Japan Smaller Companies: the winners
The effects of Covid-19 were felt very differently across the smaller companies landscape.
Interview with our Japanese researchers
Donald Farquharson, head of the Japanese Equity Team at Baillie Gifford, speaks to Japan-based strategy researchers Akiko Hirai and Satoko Ishino.
Japanese Equities Q1 investment update
Investment manager Karen See and investment specialist Sarah Clark give an update on the Japan All Cap, Japan Growth and Japan Income Growth strategies covering Q4 2023.
Related insights
Japanese Equities Q1 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.The fresh face of Japanese finance
New online services are transforming Japanese financial habits.Japan Stewardship Report
For the year ended September 2023.Japanese Equities Q4 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.Stock story: SoftBank
Matthew Brett discusses SoftBank and considers Japan’s exciting technological future.Why growth, why now?
Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.Spotting the stars amid a surge
Rising Japanese markets are flattering old-style companies: better to look for long-term growth.Japan’s new growth opportunities
Seeking the entrepreneurial firms that could sustain the country’s rally.Japanese Equities Q3 update
The Japanese Equities Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.Japanese Equities
Investment manager, Donald Farquharson, discusses the Baillie Gifford approach to Japanese Equities.Japan’s place in the chip market
The Japanese semiconductor companies set to benefit from the rise of 5G and electric cars.Japanese Equities update
Fund manager Matthew Brett and investment specialist Thomas Patchett discuss growth investing in Japan.Investing in Japan: the country’s underappreciated edge
Matthew Brett explains why inflation and a falling yen make Japan an exciting place for investors.Success after succession.
How can founder-defined companies – from Nidec to Nintendo – ensure success when it’s time for a new CEO?The strengths of Japanese company culture
Companies such as Mercari that know that trying new things is the secret to growth.Sysmex’s quest to diagnose disease.
Kobe medical diagnostics company is well-placed to capitalise on therapy breakthroughs.Four decades of lessons.
Japan’s ability to anticipate technological change should see it through the ups and downs to come.Investing in Japan: What’s changed and what’s next?
Over four decades Japan has seen 21 prime ministers come and go. Exporters such as Toyota and Toshiba have flourished but the country has also struggled with debt and deflation. Matthew Brett, investment manager, discusses what’s next.The return of the durable winners
Japan’s big brands are back, thanks to Chinese consumers, digitisation and better governance.How Japan weathered Covid
The resilience of the Japanese economy still managed to deliver dividends despite the pandemic.Adapting to disrupt
In Japan as elsewhere, companies that can adapt quickly often have the most success.SBI: Japan’s fintech frontrunner
How an entrepreneurial tech company disrupted the world of Japanese financial services.Japan Smaller Companies: the winners
The effects of Covid-19 were felt very differently across the smaller companies landscape.Interview with our Japanese researchers
Donald Farquharson, head of the Japanese Equity Team at Baillie Gifford, speaks to Japan-based strategy researchers Akiko Hirai and Satoko Ishino.
Explore further
Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.
Important information
The content of this website is intended exclusively for professional investors in accordance with MiFID legislation. ’Professional investors’ are potential investors who are deemed to have the status of “professional clients”, within the meaning of MiFID (2004/39/EC), as transposed in Ireland. It is not intended for retail investors.
Baillie Gifford Investment Management (Europe) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (Reference number C182354) as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager and UCITS Manager to Baillie Gifford Worldwide Funds plc. Its registered office is 4/5 School House Lane East, Dublin 2, D02 N279, Ireland.
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