Capital at risk
US Discovery
The strategy builds on the longer-running Global Discovery Strategy but looks exclusively at the US – which we consider unmatched in its appeal.
Smaller businesses often utilise novel technologies or approaches to solve key problems. The companies we seek offer better and cheaper solutions than the status quo. They challenge today’s incumbents – shaping our future.
Ambitious companies solving today’s problems
We carry out in-depth research to unearth immature, disruptive companies. Once found, we want to hold them for the long term as they grow and scale. We mainly consider opportunities below $10bn market cap. However, at least 80 per cent of assets will be invested in companies with a market cap of $30bn or smaller.
Immaturity, not size, is the proxy for potential
The attraction of investing in smaller companies is the range of possible outcomes.
This can lead the strategy to display pronounced volatility, especially over the short- to medium-term. Yet investing early increases the possibility of a highly asymmetrical outcome. We aim to harness this to deliver overall strategy returns.
The strategy aims to outperform (net of fees) the Russell 2500 Growth Index, predominantly through capital appreciation, over rolling five-year periods.
Harnessing asymmetry to deliver long term
Our portfolio is constructed entirely from the bottom up, disregarding the benchmark. It has an extremely high active share and operates in a large investible universe. We position ourselves along the frontiers of innovation and technological development.
What unites the companies we invest in is immaturity. We define this as: innovating to solve significant problems and reshape an industry, emerging competitive edge, quality and ambition of management, and scalability.
This pursuit of immaturity is unique to US Discovery.
We established the Discovery Strategy to capture the opportunity in the enduring supercycle of innovation.
Meet the managers
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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 | Axon Enterprise | 6.19 |
| 2 | AeroVironment | 5.33 |
| 3 | TransMedics Group | 4.17 |
| 4 | Freshpet | 3.96 |
| 5 | JFrog | 3.84 |
| 6 | Sprout Social | 3.61 |
| 7 | LiveRamp | 3.40 |
| 8 | Novanta | 3.34 |
| 9 | Varonis Systems | 3.16 |
| 10 | Twist Bioscience | 2.90 |
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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