Capital at risk

Investment strategy

International Alpha

We believe the best way to navigate an uncertain world is to build a diversified portfolio of outstanding companies with deep competitive advantages and excellent stewardship.

Loch Coruisk viewed from a moantain top from above the valley.

An emphasis on quality

We invest across four types of growth: quality compounders, rapid growth, through-cycle winners and capital allocators. Our aim is to build a portfolio which can withstand economic cycles and take advantage of unpredictable events. 

International Alpha Q3 update

The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.

Embracing every shade of growth

International Alpha is distinctly long term. We aim to outperform the MSCI ACWI ex-US benchmark by 2-3 per cent per annum over rolling five-year periods.  

Our portfolio contains 70-110 holdings. We seek to take advantage of market inefficiencies by investing across different types of growth company, which given our time horizon allows us to take advantage of their idiosyncratic growth opportunities.  

We find these companies through bottom-up research, holding on for the long term to capture the potential benefits of compounded growth.  

The performance target is aspirational and is not guaranteed. We don’t use it to compile the portfolio and returns will vary. A single performance target may not be appropriate across all vehicles and jurisdictions. We may not meet our investment objectives if, for example, our growth investment style is out of favour or we misjudge the long-term earnings growth of our holdings.

A promising process

The International Alpha portfolio has a high active share, a genuinely long-term approach and a blend of high-quality growth companies that looks to exploit market inefficiencies by investing across all shades of growth. To do this we:  

  • Take a long-term perspective, resulting in low portfolio turnover
  • Invest from the bottom up, supported by in-depth fundamental analysis
  • Have a quality-growth orientation
  • Follow a patient, repeatable process, drawing on the best ideas from firm-wide research  
To invest in growth is to say that society will achieve more tomorrow than it does today… Curiosity should be at the heart of all good investment research.
Jenny Davis

Meet the managers

Documents

Philosophy and process

Explore our investment philosophy and the processes around how the team constructs the portfolio.

Quarterly update

Get the latest investment commentary, portfolio overview, transactions and performance information alongside governance engagement and voting. 

Stewardship report

Find out about our conversations with portfolio companies, shareholder vote activity and consideration of environmental, social and governance matters.

Explore further

Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.

Strategy portfolio holdings

A list of the top 10 holdings that the representative portfolio invests in.

All figures up to: 30 September 2024

#CompanyFund %
1MercadoLibre4.7%
2TSMC4.5%
3Tencent3.2%
4CRH2.6%
5SAP2.6%
6Scout242.3%
7Samsung Electronics2.2%
8Ryanair ADR2.1%
9Deutsche Boerse2.1%
10Kingspan Group2.0%

Strategy holdings by sector

All figures up to: 30 September 2024

1Information Technology19.92%
2Industrials19.92%
3Financials15.61%
4Consumer Discretionary14.19%
5Communication Services10.01%
6Materials6.97%
7Consumer Staples5.70%
8Health Care4.65%
9Energy1.78%
10Cash1.25%
Total 100%

Strategy holdings by sector

All figures up to: 30 September 2024

Total: 100%

Strategy holdings by region

All figures up to: 30 September 2024

1Europe (ex UK)44.20%
2Emerging Markets28.77%
3Developed Asia Pacific13.81%
4UK6.42%
5Canada5.56%
6Cash1.25%
Total 100%

Strategy holdings by region

All figures up to: 30 September 2024

Total: 100%

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.

Explore further

Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.

Insights

Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:

Filters

Insights

Viewing 18 of 18
  1. Investment specialist Qian Zhang

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Asia

    Qian Zhang highlights three Asian companies at the forefront of global structural trends.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  2. Investment specialist Thomas Hodges

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Europe

    Thomas Hodges uncovers three of Europe’s hidden growth champions: Lonza, Topicus and Soitec.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  3. The importance of focus

    Why focus and patience are crucial elements when investing and identifying growth companies.
    September 2024
    Article8 minutes
  4. MercadoLibre: Latin America’s unbanked

    MercadoLibre offers hope to Latin America’s 178 million unbanked population.
    September 2024
    Article5 minutes
  5. An employee wearing PPE carefully examines the microchips on a wafer

    International viewpoints: semi-cap resilience

    Why our long-term conviction in ASML, Tokyo Electron and TSMC stands up to recent sector volatility.
    August 2024
    Article3 minutes
  6. Mountains with a cloudy sky

    International Alpha Q2 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    July 2024
    Video11 minutes
  7. International viewpoints: global EV trends

    Analysing market dynamics, industry challenges and future trends of EVs’ global adoption.
    July 2024
    Article2 minutes
  8. Hundreds of lit lanterns are hanging together from a temple ceiling

    International viewpoints: eastern promise

    What market sentiment, recent valuations and policy changes mean for us as investors in Asian growth companies.
    June 2024
    Article2 minutes
  9. The landscape seen from lens in Shanghai, China

    China through a Japanese lens

    Japanese tech dominance is under increasing pressure in China from domestic challengers.
    May 2024
    Article8 minutes
  10. Tilting the odds in your favour

    The Magnificent Seven’s reputation goes before them but that’s not enough to save them.
    April 2024
    Article8 minutes
  11. International Alpha Q1 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    April 2024
    Video20 minutes
  12. International Alpha Q4 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    January 2024
    Video16 minutes
  13. Why growth, why now?

    Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.
    December 2023
    Article17 minutes
  14. International Alpha Q3 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    October 2023
    Video17 minutes
  15. Adapting to survive – and thrive

    Using a fighter pilot’s business strategy can help a company orient itself amid change.
    August 2023
    Article
  16. International Alpha Q2 update

    The International Alpha team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes, and market developments.
    July 2023
    Video15 minutes
  17. International Alpha Q1 update

    International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes, and market developments.
    April 2023
    Video8 minutes
  18. International Alpha Stewardship Report

    To 31 May 2022.
    July 2022
    Document

International Alpha Q3 update

The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.

  1. Investment specialist Qian Zhang

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Asia

    Qian Zhang highlights three Asian companies at the forefront of global structural trends.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  2. Investment specialist Thomas Hodges

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Europe

    Thomas Hodges uncovers three of Europe’s hidden growth champions: Lonza, Topicus and Soitec.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  3. The importance of focus

    Why focus and patience are crucial elements when investing and identifying growth companies.
    September 2024
    Article8 minutes
  4. MercadoLibre: Latin America’s unbanked

    MercadoLibre offers hope to Latin America’s 178 million unbanked population.
    September 2024
    Article5 minutes
  5. An employee wearing PPE carefully examines the microchips on a wafer

    International viewpoints: semi-cap resilience

    Why our long-term conviction in ASML, Tokyo Electron and TSMC stands up to recent sector volatility.
    August 2024
    Article3 minutes
  6. Mountains with a cloudy sky

    International Alpha Q2 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    July 2024
    Video11 minutes
  7. International viewpoints: global EV trends

    Analysing market dynamics, industry challenges and future trends of EVs’ global adoption.
    July 2024
    Article2 minutes
  8. Hundreds of lit lanterns are hanging together from a temple ceiling

    International viewpoints: eastern promise

    What market sentiment, recent valuations and policy changes mean for us as investors in Asian growth companies.
    June 2024
    Article2 minutes
  9. The landscape seen from lens in Shanghai, China

    China through a Japanese lens

    Japanese tech dominance is under increasing pressure in China from domestic challengers.
    May 2024
    Article
  10. Tilting the odds in your favour

    The Magnificent Seven’s reputation goes before them but that’s not enough to save them.
    April 2024
    Article8 minutes
  11. International Alpha Q1 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    April 2024
    Video20 minutes
  12. International Alpha Q4 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    January 2024
    Video16 minutes
  13. Why growth, why now?

    Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.
    December 2023
    Article17 minutes
  14. International Alpha Q3 update

    The International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
    October 2023
    Video17 minutes
  15. Adapting to survive – and thrive

    Using a fighter pilot’s business strategy can help a company orient itself amid change.
    August 2023
    Article
  16. International Alpha Q2 update

    The International Alpha team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes, and market developments.
    July 2023
    Video15 minutes
  17. International Alpha Q1 update

    International Alpha Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes, and market developments.
    April 2023
    Video8 minutes
  18. International Alpha Stewardship Report

    To 31 May 2022.
    July 2022
    Document

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.

This website is informative only and the information provided should not be considered as investment or other advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment. Read our Legal and regulatory information for further details.