Overview
Fund objective
The Japanese Fund aims to outperform (after deduction of costs) the TOPIX, as stated in sterling, over rolling five-year 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 Japan Sector.
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.
Investment proposition
Share price and charges
Share class
B, IncPrice
2022.00p% change
1.10%Yield
1.0%Ex-dividend (XD)
XOngoing charges*
0.63%Initial charge
0%Minimum investment
£100,000Minimum top up
£1,000Fund facts
Fund launch date
8 October 1984
Fund size
£1,037.85m
The Investment Association sector
Japan
Comparative Index
TOPIX (in sterling)
Active share
83%**
Annual turnover
18%
Guideline number of holdings
45-65
Current number of holdings
63
Style
Growth
XD Date
Last day of April each year
Distribution
Last day of June each year
Pricing
Valuation point 10am daily, swinging single price
Fund settlement cycle
Trade date plus three business days (T+3)
**Relative to TOPIX. Source: Baillie Gifford & Co, Japan Exchange Group.
Meet the managers
Risk Warnings
Risk Introduction
Investment markets can go down as well as up and market conditions can change rapidly. The value of an investment in the Fund, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. The specific risks associated with the Fund include:
Custody
Custody of assets involves a risk of loss if a custodian becomes insolvent or breaches duties of care.
Single Country
The Fund's exposure to a single market and currency may increase share price movements.
Foreign Currency
The Fund has exposure to a foreign currency and changes in the rate of exchange will cause the value of any investment, and income from it, to fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount invested.
Volatility
The Fund's share price can be volatile due to movements in the prices of the underlying holdings and the basis on which the Fund is priced.
Further Information
Further details of the risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the Key Investor Information Document or the Prospectus, copies of which are available at bailliegifford.com.
Index disclaimer
Important information
Your location indicates you are based in Jersey and you have confirmed that you are an intermediary. The information in the website is not intended for retail investors. Please select “Change” at the top of the page if this is not suitable for you.
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.
Fund performance
Periodic performance
As at: 30 April 2026
1 Month | 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class B-Acc | 7.6% | 1.2% | -3.0% | 15.4% | 6.5% | 1.2% |
Index* | 5.0% | 4.9% | 7.6% | 28.0% | 16.0% | 9.5% |
Sector Average** | 6.0% | 5.3% | 7.3% | 28.2% | 14.7% | 8.1% |
Sector Ranking | 21/106 | 99/105 | 102/104 | 97/104 | 88/97 | 85/93 |
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
As at: 31 March 2026
31/03/2021 – 31/03/2022 | 31/03/2022 – 31/03/2023 | 31/03/2023 – 31/03/2024 | 31/03/2024 – 31/03/2025 | 31/03/2025 – 31/03/2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Class B-Acc | -8.5% | -5.4% | 8.4% | -2.3% | 7.5% |
Index* | -2.7% | 2.8% | 21.7% | -2.5% | 23.9% |
Sector Average** | -4.4% | 0.7% | 18.2% | -2.2% | 22.5% |
Important information
Your location indicates you are based in Jersey and you have confirmed that you are an intermediary. The information in the website is not intended for retail investors. Please select “Change” at the top of the page if this is not suitable for you.
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.
Fund portfolio holdings
The list of top 10 holdings that this fund invests in.
As at: 30 April 2026
| # | Holding | % of total assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SoftBank Group | 8.3% |
| 2 | Sumitomo Mitsui Trust | 4.9% |
| 3 | SBI Holdings | 4.6% |
| 4 | Rakuten | 3.7% |
| 5 | FANUC | 3.6% |
| 6 | Sony | 3.4% |
| 7 | SMC | 3.4% |
| 8 | CyberAgent | 3.0% |
| 9 | Murata Manufacturing | 2.6% |
| 10 | GMO Internet | 2.6% |
Sector
As at: 30 April 2026
# | Sector | Fund % | Index % * | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric Appliances | 19.9 | 19.5 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Information & Communication | 14.2 | 6.4 | 7.8 |
| 3 | Services | 11.0 | 2.9 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Chemicals | 10.4 | 4.7 | 5.7 |
| 5 | Machinery | 9.7 | 6.7 | 3.0 |
| 6 | Banks | 6.3 | 10.8 | -4.6 |
| 7 | Securities & Commodity Futures | 4.6 | 0.9 | 3.7 |
| 8 | Pharmaceutical | 3.2 | 3.5 | -0.3 |
| 9 | Other Products | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| 10 | Wholesale Trade | 2.5 | 8.4 | -5.9 |
| 11 | Insurance | 2.5 | 3.3 | -0.8 |
| 12 | Real Estate | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| 13 | Rubber Products | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| 14 | Other Financing Business | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| 15 | Foods | 1.7 | 2.7 | -1.0 |
| 16 | Retail Trade | 1.6 | 4.0 | -2.3 |
| 17 | Transportation Equipment | 1.4 | 5.5 | -4.1 |
| 18 | Nonferrous Metals | 1.1 | 3.0 | -1.8 |
| 19 | Precision Instruments | 0.8 | 2.0 | -1.2 |
| 20 | Land Transportation | 0.6 | 1.9 | -1.3 |
| 21 | Cash | -0.3 | 0.0 | -0.3 |
Total | 100.0 | 91.9 |
Quarterly transactions
Transactions for the three-month period ending 31 March 2026
Complete sales
- Sony Financial Group Inc
Important information
Your location indicates you are based in Jersey and you have confirmed that you are an intermediary. The information in the website is not intended for retail investors. Please select “Change” at the top of the page if this is not suitable for you.
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.
Insights
Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the fund:
Important information
Your location indicates you are based in Jersey and you have confirmed that you are an intermediary. The information in the website is not intended for retail investors. Please select “Change” at the top of the page if this is not suitable for you.
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.
Documents
You can access any literature about the Fund here.
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.
Important information
Your location indicates you are based in Jersey and you have confirmed that you are an intermediary. The information in the website is not intended for retail investors. Please select “Change” at the top of the page if this is not suitable for you.
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.