Overview
What does sustainable mean to you? Something that lasts a lifetime? We think it’s a resilient income that can keep pace with inflation over time. Sustainable income is a simple, multi-asset fund designed to be a core holding for investors with long-term income needs.
The Sustainable Income Fund aims to produce monthly income, whilst seeking to maintain the value of that income and of capital in line with inflation (UK CPI) over five-year periods. The Fund has no benchmark. The manager believes an appropriate performance comparison for this Fund is the Investment Association Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Sector.
Sustainable income has two meanings for us. Will the income prove to be sustainable over long periods of time? And is it sustainable from an ESG perspective? We believe the two are inextricably linked.
Performance & Portfolio
Periodic Performance
All figures to 30/11/2024 6 Months
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
Class B-Inc 5.1% 9.8% 2.3% 4.3% Sector Average*** 5.5% 14.9% 2.8% 4.9% Sector Ranking 132/220 208/216 122/196 125/174 ***IA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Sector.
Performance source: FE, total return net of charges, in sterling.
Since inception figures are from 31 August 2018.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 30 September each year
Annual percentage return (Updated Quarterly) 30/09/2019
30/09/202030/09/2020
30/09/202130/09/2021
30/09/202230/09/2022
30/09/202330/09/2023
30/09/2024Class B-Inc 2.1% 11.1% -9.4% 5.9% 14.2% Sector Average*** -0.2% 16.6% -10.2% 5.1% 13.9% 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.Share class returns calculated using 10am prices, while the Index is calculated close-to-close.
***IA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Sector.Top Ten Holdings - 30/11/2024
Fund % 1 Greencoat UK Wind 1.6% 2 Microsoft 1.5% 3 Fastenal 1.5% 4 Assura Group 1.4% 5 TSMC 1.3% 6 Greencoat Renewables 1.3% 7 UK T Bill 03/02/2025 1.3% 8 Watsco Inc 1.3% 9 Renewables Infrastructure Group 1.3% 10 Novo Nordisk 1.2% Total 13.8% Asset Allocation - 30/11/2024Fund %
- 1 Global Equities 31.36
- 2 Property 9.96
- 3 Infrastructure 21.05
- 4 High Yield Credit 8.96
- 5 Investment Grade Credit 6.08
- 6 Emerging Market Bonds Hard Currency 7.86
- 7 Emerging Market Bonds Local Currency 9.41
- 8 Developed Government Bonds 1.48
- 9 Cash and Equivalents 3.83
- 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
James Dow
James is head of Global Income Growth and co-manager of the Scottish American Investment Company, as well as a member of the Portfolio Construction Group for the Sustainable Income Strategy. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2004 and became a partner in the firm in 2023. Prior to this he was an investment manager in our US Equities Team. Before joining the firm, he spent three years at The Scotsman, where he was economics editor. James is a CFA Charterholder. He graduated MA (Hons) in Economics and Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in 2000 and MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics in 2001.
Steven Hay
Steven joined Baillie Gifford in 2004 and is Head of the Income Research Team. Prior to joining Baillie Gifford, Steven was a Fixed Income Investment Manager with Scottish Widows. His experience includes seven years undertaking analysis and research for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, and involvement in managing the UK’s foreign exchange reserves. Steven graduated BAcc (Hons) in Economics and Accountancy from the University of Glasgow in 1992 and MSc in Economics from the University of Warwick in 1993.
Nicoleta Dumitru
Nicoleta joined Baillie Gifford in 2013 and is an Investment Manager in the Multi Asset Team. In 2018, she joined the Multi Asset Income Portfolio Construction Group (PCG). Nicoleta graduated BSc (Hons) in Management and Marketing from the University of Manchester in 2013.
Lesley Dunn
Lesley is Head of Credit and co-manager of the Strategic Bond strategy. She is a member of the Multi Asset and Income Leadership Group and the Sustainable Income Portfolio Construction Group. Lesley joined Baillie Gifford in 2016 and became a partner of the firm 2023. Prior to this, she spent 15 years at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Lesley graduated BSc (Hons) in Maths, Statistics & Economics from Strathclyde University in 2000 and is a CFA Charterholder.
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, unbiased is a website that allows you to search for authorised intermediaries in your area. You can visit their site on www.unbiased.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
Enhanced disclosure document
Factsheets
Key investor information documents (KIIDs)
Sustainability-related disclosures and climate reports
Value assessment
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.
The Fund does not guarantee positive returns. It aims to maintain the capital value in line with inflation, however this is not guaranteed.
Custody
Custody of assets involves a risk of loss if a custodian becomes insolvent or breaches duties of care.
Emerging Markets
The Fund invests in emerging markets where difficulties in dealing, settlement and custody could arise, resulting in a negative impact on the value of your investment.
Bonds & Inflation
Bonds issued by companies and governments may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates, expectations of inflation and a decline in the creditworthiness of the bond issuer. The issuers of bonds in which the Fund invests, particularly in emerging markets, may not be able to pay the bond income as promised or could fail to repay the capital amount.
Alternative Assets
Investments may be made directly in hedge funds or, through specific investment vehicles into property, infrastructure and commodities.
Returns from these investments are sensitive to various factors including interest and exchange rates, economic growth prospects and inflation, and the cost and availability of gearing (debt finance). Certain specific factors affect these assets such as:
- Hedge funds – invest in a wide variety of assets and use gearing which may increase losses; it may be difficult to obtain independent verification of the value of shares in hedge funds and there is a risk that investments in them may be difficult to sell; some funds are not directly regulated, increasing the risk of lack of transparency.
- Property - rents, vacancy rates, the supply of new property, and confidence.
- Infrastructure – expectations of future cash flow.
- Commodities – climate, supply, industrial and consumer demand, and tariffs.
Derivatives
Derivatives may be used to obtain, increase or reduce exposure to assets and may result in the Fund being leveraged. This may result in greater movements (down or up) in the price of shares in the Fund. It is not our intention that the use of derivatives will significantly alter the overall risk profile of the Fund.
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.
Under certain market conditions it can be difficult to buy or sell securities and even small purchases or sales can cause their prices to move significantly. To manage the effects of this, we may apply an increased dilution adjustment. As a result investors may face increased dealing costs.
Fees to Capital
For distribution purposes the Authorised Corporate Director (ACD) has the facility to allocate some or all expenses to capital. This will reduce the capital value of the Fund. For the year to 31 January 2020 100% of expenses were allocated to capital. The figure for the current financial period has not yet been determined however this number may vary from year to year.
Market Conditions
Market values for illiquid securities which are difficult to trade, or value less frequently than the Fund, such as holdings in weekly or monthly dealt funds, may not be readily available. There can be no assurance that any value assigned to them will reflect the price the Fund might receive upon their sale.
Investment in vehicles which themselves invest in a range of assets described previously which may become illiquid may not be easily converted into cash when required.
Tax Rates
Tax rates and the tax treatment of OEICs can change at any time.
