1. Investment Grade Bond Fund

  2. Overview

    The Investment Grade Bond Fund aims to outperform (after deduction of costs) the ICE Bank of America Sterling Non-Gilt Index by 0.75% per annum over rolling three-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 Sterling Corporate Bonds Sector.

    As we prospect for ideas we value robust debate. This is why the investment teams are kept small, why we rotate sector coverage, and why our ideas are shared with the wider firm.

    Performance & Portfolio

    Periodic performance

    All figures to 31/10/2024

    6 Months

    1 Year

    3 Years

    5 Years

    Class B-Inc 3.2%10.3%-3.0%-0.8%
    Index* 2.6%8.3%-3.4%-1.2%
    Target Benchmark** 3.0%9.1%-2.8%-0.6%

    Annual discrete performance 30 September each year

    Annual percentage return (Updated Quarterly)

    30/09/2019
    30/09/2020

    30/09/2020
    30/09/2021

    30/09/2021
    30/09/2022

    30/09/2022
    30/09/2023

    30/09/2023
    30/09/2024

    Class B-Inc 3.6%0.3%-22.1%6.5%11.1%
    Index* 3.9%-0.3%-22.2%7.4%9.7%
    Target Benchmark** 4.4%0.2%-21.9%8.2%10.6%
    Sector Average*** 4.2%1.3%-20.5%7.3%10.9%

    Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future returns. 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, ICE Data Indices. Total return net of charges, in sterling.

    Share class returns calculated using 10am prices, while the Index is calculated close-to-close.

    Figures for 3 and 5 years are shown as the annualised rate of return. This is the average yearly return over the specified period.

    *ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilts Index.

    **ICE BofA sterling Non-Gilt Index plus +0.50% to 16 September 2022; thereafter ICE BofA sterling Non-Gilt Index plus +0.75% per annum, over rolling three-year periods. The indices have been chain-linked for performance figures above.

    ***IA £ Corporate Bond Sector.

    Top ten physical bond holdings* 31/10/2024

    Fund %
    1 Blackstone Private Credit 4.875% 2026 2.3%
    2 AT&T 7% 2040 1.9%
    3 International Workplace Group 6.5% 2030 1.7%
    4 Mitchells & Butlers FRN (AB) 2033 1.6%
    5 Nationwide 5.875% 2024 Perp AT1 1.6%
    6 Burberry 1.125% 2025 1.6%
    7 Inchcape 6.5% 2028 1.6%
    8 TAG Immobilien 4.25% 2030 1.3%
    9 IBRD 0.25% 2026 1.3%
    10 Yorkshire Building Society 6.375% 2027/28 1.3%
    Total 16.3%
    Sector analysis of total assets 31/10/2024

    Fund %

    • 1 Banking 17.07
    • 2 Utility 11.13
    • 3 Real Estate 8.12
    • 4 Asset Backed 8.05
    • 5 Financial Services 7.85
    • 6 Insurance 6.46
    • 7 Sovereign 5.08
    • 8 Supranational 4.69
    • 9 Telecommunications 4.20
    • 10 Commercial Mortgage Backed 4.18
    • 11 Government Guaranteed 3.31
    • 12 Retail 3.13
    • 13 Agency 2.22
    • 14 Capital Goods 2.08
    • 15 Others 11.03
    • 16 Cash & Derivatives 1.42
    • 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.

    A negative cash position may sometimes occur due to obligations awaiting settlement.

    The information contained on this page is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon when making investment decisions. Source Baillie Gifford & Co.

    Please note that totals may not sum due to rounding.

    Meet the Managers

    Paul Dilworth

    Paul is an investment manager in the Credit Team, co-manging the Investment Grade and Sterling Aggregate strategies. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2019. Before joining the firm, Paul worked for almost 13 years at Kames Capital where he was responsible for managing a broad range of fixed income mandates, including Global Financial Credit, Global Absolute Return and Investment Grade Credit. Paul graduated BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from Heriot-Watt University in 2006 and is a CFA Charterholder.

    Nektarios Chatzilefteris Michalas

    Nektarios is an investment manager in the Credit Team, co-managing the Investment Grade Bond Strategy. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2020. Prior to joining the firm, he served for 8 years as an artillery officer in the army followed by 4 years in a variety of banking and insurance roles. He graduated BSc in Military Operations Management and Battle Science from the Hellenic Military Academy in 2008 and MBA from the University of Macedonia in 2017. Nektarios is a CFA Charterholder.

    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.

    Complaints

    In the first instance, clients should contact their normal Client Contact with any concerns. Alternatively, or for those clients who do not have a direct client contact assigned, complaints can be emailed to Baillie Gifford’s Compliance Department at: InstitutionalComplaints@bailliegifford.com. A summary document which contains details on Baillie Gifford’s complaints management policy is available upon request. All material complaints are recorded in an in-house incident management system and are escalated to, and dealt with by, members of staff of suitable seniority, independent of the area from which the matter arose.