Capital at risk

Investment strategy

US Alpha

Growing businesses will dominate US Equities’ stock market returns over a decade. Some will grow rapidly, others quietly compound, and still more will progress in leaps and pauses. US Alpha celebrates this breadth of growth and patiently backs exceptional companies over a decade in the hope of generating extraordinary returns for our clients.

Winding empty road through arid desert landscape.

Seeking a breadth of growth

We don’t want to own one or two of any decade’s top outperformers. We want to hold them all. Focusing on growing businesses is the best way to drive returns, and it’s clear that not all such opportunities look the same.

US Alpha Q3 update

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

We don’t follow the benchmark

‘More ways to win’ makes sense in a market as rich and deep as North America. We are inspired by diversity, and our broad approach gives us the best chance of finding the most exciting prospects in the US in whatever industry we find them while diversifying the drivers of risks. 

Our objective is to perform 2 per cent above the S&P 500 per annum, over rolling five-year periods by investing in a broad range of exceptional growth businesses. We believe this to be a reasonable estimate of the amount by which we can outperform in the long term, considering the opportunity set and the many types of growth our companies exhibit.

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.

Disruptors, adaptors and pilots

We invest in three types of companies. Where the market underestimates the growth of exceptional firms, we look for ‘disruptors’, with young cultures and inventive founders. Where duration is underappreciated, we look for ‘adaptors’, which know whether to preserve an asset or embrace change. And in turbulent industries, we look for ‘pilots’, which put capital allocation above all else. The result is a portfolio with a low overlap with the index and low turnover, which we are confident can deliver differentiated long-term results.

We celebrate the breadth of opportunity before us, embrace uncertainty and invest with optimism.
Michael Taylor

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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 October 2024

#Holding% of portfolio
1NVIDIA3.4%
2Microsoft3.3%
3Meta Platforms2.9%
4DoorDash2.7%
5Alphabet2.6%
6Shopify2.6%
7Netflix2.3%
8Amazon.com2.2%
9Chewy2.0%
10CBRE Group Inc2.0%

Strategy holdings by sector

As at: 31 October 2024

1Consumer Discretionary22.00%
2Information Technology20.70%
3Communication Services12.30%
4Health Care12.00%
5Financials10.30%
6Industrials8.30%
7Consumer Staples5.20%
8Materials3.40%
9Real Estate3.30%
10Energy0.40%
11Cash2.00%
Total 100%

Strategy holdings by sector

All figures up to: 31 October 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.

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Insights

Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:

US Alpha Q3 update

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

Invest in this strategy

You can invest in this strategy through the following fund(s).

Explore further

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

How to invest in this strategy

You can invest in this strategy through the following fund(s).

Explore further

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

Important information

Qualified Investors include those that the Financial Services Act (FinSA) defines as Professional or Institutional Clients, which range from central banks to private investment structures with professional treasury operations created for a high-net-worth retail client. If you are not a qualified investor please select “Change” at the top of this page.
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. You can read details of our Legal and Important Information here.