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 31/10/2023 6 Months
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
Class B-Acc 3.2% -3.4% -14.8% 6.9% Index* 5.0% 4.5% 12.7% 12.2% Target Benchmark** 5.7% 6.0% 14.2% 13.7% Sector Average*** 3.0% 1.7% 9.7% 10.1% Sector Ranking 139/249 186/247 221/223 171/201
Annual Discrete Performance to 30 September each year
Annual percentage return (Updated Quarterly) 30/09/2018
30/09/201930/09/2019
30/09/202030/09/2020
30/09/202130/09/2021
30/09/202230/09/2022
30/09/2023Class B-Acc -4.6% 100.9% 23.5% -47.0% 3.9% Index* 10.3% 9.8% 24.6% 2.1% 11.2% Target Benchmark** 11.9% 11.2% 26.2% 3.5% 12.8% Sector Average*** 7.4% 9.1% 25.4% -2.1% 8.2% 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 in sterling.
Share class and Sector 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.Figures for 3 and 5 years show the annual rate of return.
Performance - 31/10/2023Please 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 - 31/10/2023
Fund % 1 The Trade Desk 8.9% 2 Amazon.com 7.8% 3 NVIDIA 7.7% 4 Shopify 6.3% 5 Tesla Inc 5.3% 6 Netflix 4.5% 7 CoStar 4.0% 8 Watsco 3.7% 9 Doordash 3.7% 10 Workday 3.5% Total 55.4% SECTOR ANALYSIS OF TOTAL ASSETS - 31/10/2023Fund %
- 1 Information Technology 30.16
- 2 Consumer Discretionary 26.38
- 3 Communication Services 22.63
- 4 Health Care 9.96
- 5 Real Estate 4.00
- 6 Industrials 3.69
- 7 Financials 1.25
- 8 Materials 0.43
- 9 Consumer Staples 0.36
- 10 Cash 1.14
- 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.
How to Invest
You can invest in our funds via a number of fund platforms, please see the links opposite. Information on the range of funds available through platforms can be found in our Platform Matrix.
Please note that we do not have the facility for you to invest directly with us in our Investment Trusts and we do not offer ISAs, SIPPS or Share Plans.
Please also note that we do not have an online service for individual investors.
Further information on our funds can be found in the relevant Key Investor Information and Prospectus Documents, which are available in English and will be sent to you free of charge on request.
Baillie Gifford does not sponsor, maintain or have any control over the content of any other websites. Therefore, we are not responsible for the adequacy or accuracy of any of the information you may view, nor do we undertake to ensure successful transmission to any linked website.
How to Invest
Getting Financial Advice
At Baillie Gifford we don’t provide financial advice, but we do try our best to provide you with all the information we think you might need to make investment decisions. Of course, we realise there are occasions when you may want the advice of an expert.
Using professional financial advice
An authorised intermediary can give you advice and help on how best to manage your financial affairs based on your circumstances and investment aspirations. They can also help keep track of all your different investment interests, saving you a lot of time and bookkeeping.
Finding a financial adviser near you
If you want to use an authorised intermediary, MyLocalAdviser is a website that allows you to search for authorised intermediaries in your area. You can visit their site on www.mylocaladviser.co.uk
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
Value Assessment
Sustainability-related Disclosures
Risks
General Investment Risk
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.
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.
Concentration
The Fund’s concentrated portfolio relative to similar funds may result in large movements in the share price in the short term.
Foreign Currency
The Fund has exposure to foreign currencies and changes in the rates 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.
Dilution
A dilution adjustment may apply when you buy or sell shares in the Fund. This is applied to the share price and may reduce the return on your investment.
Fees From Revenue
Where possible, charges are taken from the Fund's revenue. Where there is insufficient revenue, the remainder will be taken from capital. This will reduce the capital value of your investment.
Tax Rates
Tax rates and the tax treatment of OEICs can change at any time.
