Overview
The Fund aims to outperform (after deduction of costs) the S&P 500 Index, as stated in Sterling, by at least 1.5% per annum over rolling five-year periods. There is no guarantee that this objective will be achieved over any time period and actual investment returns may differ from this objective, particularly over shorter time periods.
The manager believes this is an appropriate benchmark given the investment policy of the Fund and the approach taken by the manager when investing. In addition, the manager believes an appropriate performance comparison for this Fund is the Investment Association North America Sector.
Statement
The American Fund invests on a five to ten year view. The price of the Fund could change materially based on the valuations of a few companies. As such, it may not suit your investment needs.
Prior to considering an investment please take into account your tolerance for volatility in the value of the Fund’s share price and whether your investment time horizon aligns with the Fund’s. Company share prices can rise and fall significantly in the short run. They can be dominated by the sentiment of other investors, and are often swayed by news and events. We will not attempt to predict or control for short-term price changes; looking beyond the immediate environment is an important part of our process.
We manage the Fund this way because it is where we believe we have the greatest investment insight, which in turn gives us the best chance to deliver outstanding investment returns to shareholders over the next five years and beyond. The businesses we invest in are innovative, disruptive and run very differently to the average. Our investment horizon of at least five years, combined with our creative approach to research, helps us to see value where others don’t. But we cannot guarantee that we will be proven right, or that the Fund will achieve the returns we aim for.
If you are interested in finding out more then there is additional information in the Insights and Documents sections of the website.
Performance & Portfolio
Periodic Performance
All figures to 31/03/2024 6 Months
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
Class B-Acc 26.3% 37.2% -8.0% 12.1% Index* 19.3% 27.1% 14.8% 15.7% Target Benchmark** 20.0% 28.7% 16.4% 17.3% Figures for 3 and 5 years are shown as the annualised rate of return. This is the average yearly return over the specified period.
Annual Discrete Performance to 31 March each year
Annual percentage return (Updated Quarterly) 31/03/2019
31/03/202031/03/2020
31/03/202131/03/2021
31/03/202231/03/2022
31/03/202331/03/2023
31/03/2024Class B-Acc 10.8% 105.1% -20.1% -29.1% 37.2% Index* -2.2% 40.5% 21.2% -1.7% 27.1% Target Benchmark** -1.0% 42.2% 22.6% -0.2% 28.7% Sector Average*** -4.0% 42.4% 16.1% -4.0% 25.1% Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future performance.
The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.
Source: FE, Revolution, S&P. Total return net of charges, in sterling.
Share class returns calculated using 10am prices, while the Index is calculated close-to-close.
*S&P 500 Index.
**S&P 500 Index (in sterling) plus at least 1.5% per annum over rolling five-year periods.
***IA North America Sector.Performance - 31/03/2024Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future performance.
The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.
Source: FE and relevant underlying index provider, single pricing basis, total return.
The graph is rebased to 100.Top Ten Holdings - 31/03/2024
Fund % 1 Amazon.com 7.7% 2 NVIDIA 7.6% 3 Shopify 7.5% 4 The Trade Desk 7.3% 5 Meta Platforms 5.6% 6 DoorDash 4.9% 7 Netflix 4.3% 8 Cloudflare 4.0% 9 Moderna 3.5% 10 Tesla Inc 3.4% Total 55.8% Sector analysis of total assets - 31/03/2024Fund %
- 1 Information Technology 29.76
- 2 Consumer Discretionary 25.27
- 3 Communication Services 22.27
- 4 Health Care 12.44
- 5 Real Estate 2.91
- 6 Industrials 2.53
- 7 Financials 2.05
- 8 Consumer Staples 0.70
- 9 Materials 0.27
- 10 Cash 1.81
- Total 100.00
As the Fund invests in overseas securities, changes in the rates of exchange may cause the value of your investment (and any income it may pay) to go down or up.
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.Insights
View all Insights.Meet the Managers
Tom Slater - Manager
Tom joined Baillie Gifford in 2000 and became a Partner of the firm 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 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.
Gary Robinson
Gary is a partner and US Equity Growth investment manager. Gary joined Baillie Gifford in 2003 and spent time working on our Japanese, UK and European Equity teams before moving to 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.
Kirsty Gibson
Kirsty is an Investment Manager in the US Equities Team. Kirsty joined Baillie Gifford in 2012 and began her career on the US Equities Team, moving on to spend several years in small and large cap global equities departments, before returning to the US Equities Team. She graduated MA (Hons) in Economics in 2011 and MSc in Carbon Management in 2012, both from the University of Edinburgh.
Dave Bujnowski
Dave joined Baillie Gifford in 2018 as a Senior Analyst and is now a portfolio manager in the US Equities team. Prior to joining Baillie Gifford, he cofounded Coburn Ventures in 2005. In his 13 years at Coburn Ventures, was a Partner, primary client facing consultant, research analyst and portfolio manager of a long-short, market neutral hedge fund. He started his career in 1996, joining Warburg Dillon Read’s equity research group as an associate semiconductor analyst before joining UBS’s Global Tech Strategy team. Dave graduated from Boston College in 1993, where he majored in Finance and Philosophy. He has been a member of the team since 2020.
Documents
You can access any literature about the Fund here, either by downloading or requesting a copy by post (where available).
To download any document you will need Adobe Reader. Please note that we can now provide you with Braille and audio transcriptions of our literature on request. It may take up to 10 days for the transcription to be completed dependent on the size of the document.
Application Forms
Bulletins and Factsheets
Enhanced Disclosure Document
Key Investor Information Documents
Philosophy and Process Documents
Quarterly Investor Reports
Sustainability-related Disclosures
Important Information
Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited is wholly owned by Baillie Gifford & Co. Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited provides investment management and advisory services to non-UK clients. Both are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The information provided does not constitute an offer of or solicitation for purchase or sale of securities or provision of any investment services. Any general enquiries regarding Baillie Gifford should be directed to the relevant individual as noted in the Contact Us section.
The information contained in this website has been compiled with considerable care to ensure its accuracy at the date of publication. However, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made to its accuracy or completeness. Nothing in this information or elsewhere in this website shall exclude, limit or restrict our duties and liabilities to you under the United Kingdom's Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or any conduct of business rules which we are bound to comply with.
This website is informative only and the information provided should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment. You can read details of our Legal and Important Information here.
