Capital at risk
Investment strategy
UK Core
The UK Equity Core Strategy invests in a collection of tremendously exciting UK businesses. Many may not be household names, but they are typically leaders in their fields with attractive competitive positions.
We pride ourselves on the strength of our relationships with companies and the level of corporate access and insight this affords us.
Investing in Britain’s best
The UK Equity Core Strategy invests for at least five years in a range of carefully selected, high-quality British businesses which we believe have the potential to deliver superior earnings growth.
View transcript
<p><strong>Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. </strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"><strong>Kathleen Hunter: </strong>When markets lose confidence, they become increasingly short-term and more sensitive to events.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Volatility rises. Stocks are bucketed together. And simple labels start to take hold.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">AI winners. AI losers. Safe havens. Domestic cyclicals.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">This type of environment can create significant mispricing, which long-term fundamental growth investors can capitalise on.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And dramatic share price moves underpinned by short-term newsflow can become vulnerable to reversal when the narrative changes. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The clearest example this year has been oil. <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Prices spiked as investors worried about disruption linked to the conflict in Iran, before giving back most of those gains by quarter end. That created a turbulent period for the oil majors, which went from dominant drivers of index returns in the first quarter to notable underperformers in the second.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And there are echoes of this behaviour in software and technology stocks.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Earlier this year, concerns about AI led investors to group companies and mark them down sharply. Many are still caught up in the “AI loser” narrative. But in some cases, that pressure has started to ease and the market has looked again at the </span>customer relationships, the data advantages and the economics of individual businesses. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">The label came first. But, to some extent, the fundamentals have started to come back into focus.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">This quarter, the UK Core Strategy delivered positive absolute and relative performance. We don’t want to overstate one quarter. A few months do not settle a long-term investment case.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">But the quarter did show what can happen when the market starts to differentiate broad narratives from the fundamental characteristics of individual companies.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And Softcat is a good example of this. It was amongst the UK Core Strategy’s top performers this quarter.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And it’s an IT infrastructure and services provider that we bought for strategy earlier this year, when its share price was weighed down by concerns that AI would disrupt parts of its market. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">We thought that interpretation was too blunt.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">In our view, AI is not making IT easier for companies. If anything, it is making it more complicated. Businesses need to work out what technology to use, how it fits with their existing systems, how to manage the risks, and how to make sure it actually delivers value.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And this plays to Softcat’s strengths: it has long-standing customer relationships, strong vendor partnerships and a track record of helping companies make sensible technology decisions. And in its latest update showed that it is already benefiting from demand for AI-related infrastructure.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Elsewhere, having no exposure to Shell and BP also supported relative performance. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In terms of detractors this quarter, Babcock was amongst the laggards as UK defence companies derated, partly due to profit-taking after strong returns <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">last year and partly as investors waited for greater clarity on the delayed Defence Investment Plan. With regards to Babcock specifically, the company also reported a £140mn charge on its Type 31 frigate contract which was disappointing and highlights the execution risk in complex defence programmes. However, we don’t believe this undermines the long-term investment case. Its underlying results were otherwise very reassuring, with progress in revenue, margins, cash generation and debt reduction. Management also reaffirmed guidance, increased the dividend and announced a further buyback. More broadly, Babcock remains a strategically important partner to the UK and allied governments, with entrenched positions in defence and nuclear, good revenue visibility and structural support from rising defence spending.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">In terms of trading, we continued to work through a really strong pipeline of new ideas this quarter and purchased two new holdings: Scottish and Southern Energy and Helios Towers.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">SSE is a UK energy infrastructure business which combines relatively stable, regulated earnings from electricity networks with a long runway for growth due to the need to modernise the UK grid and connect more renewable power to the rest of the country. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Helios Towers owns and operates telecom towers across Africa and the Middle East. We expect demand for mobile data in these markets to grow significantly, and for Helios Towers to benefit as customers rely more heavily on its infrastructure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">To summarise - Performance this quarter was encouraging. But it is only a start.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">There is still a long way to go before the portfolio’s long-term growth potential is properly reflected in share prices.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Artificial intelligence, geopolitics, interest rates and near-term economic data all matter. But they do not affect every company in the same way.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Our job is to look through the labels and ask how change affects the long-term economics of each business.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Is the market reacting to the facts, or simply reacting to the narrative?</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">For long-term fundamental growth investors, that is not just a challenge. It is an opportunity.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">The recovery in performance this quarter is welcome, but we believe that the bigger opportunity is still to come.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="TABLEHEADER1212pt">UK Core</h3>
<p><strong>Annual past performance to 30 June each year (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 75.1516px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;"> </td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.5071%;"><strong>2022</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2023</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2024</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2025</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2026</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">UK Core Composite (gross)</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border: 1pt solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-24.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">15.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 0.75pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.9</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">21.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">5.5</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">UK Core Composite (net)</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-24.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">14.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">20.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">4.9</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">FTSE All Share index*</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-10.6</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">12.9</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">12.3</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">20.5</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">18.1</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Annualised returns to 30 June 2026 (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 92.5px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 37px;">
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 61.3276%;"> </td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 13.0762%;"><strong>1 year</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 12.684%;"><strong>5 years</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 12.8147%;"><strong>10 years</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">UK Core Composite (gross)</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border: 1pt solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 5.5</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">4.0 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">7.3 </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">UK Core Composite (net)</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 4.9</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">3.5 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">6.7 </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">FTSE All Share index*</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 18.1</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">10.0 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.6 </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<div>Source: Revolution, FTSE. US dollars. Net returns have been calculated by reducing the gross return by the highest annual management fee for the composite. 1 year figures are not annualised.</div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Past performance is not a guide to future returns.</strong></div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>Legal notice: FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”) © FTSE 2025. “FTSE ®” is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE International Limited under licence. All rights in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings vest in FTSE and/or its licensors. Neither FTSE nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any FTSE indices, ratings and/or data underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of FTSE Data is permitted without FTSE’s express written consent. FTSE does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication.</div>
<div></div>
<p><strong>Risk factors </strong> <br>This communication was produced and approved in June 2026 and has not been updated subsequently. It represents views held at the time and may not reflect current thinking.</p>
<p>The views expressed should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment. They reflect opinion and should not be taken as statements of fact nor should any reliance be placed on them when making investment decisions.</p>
<p>This communication contains information on investments which does not constitute independent research. Accordingly, it is not subject to the protections afforded to independent research, but is classified as advertising under Art 68 of the Financial Services Act (‘FinSA’) and Baillie Gifford and its staff may have dealt in the investments concerned.</p>
<p>All information is sourced from Baillie Gifford & Co and is current unless otherwise stated. </p>
<p>The images used in this communication are for illustrative purposes only.</p>
<p> <br><strong>Important information</strong><br>Baillie Gifford & Co and Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is an Authorised Corporate Director of OEICs.</p>
<p>Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited provides investment management and advisory services to non-UK Professional/Institutional clients only. Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited is wholly owned by Baillie Gifford & Co. Baillie Gifford & Co and Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited are authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK. </p>
<p>Persons resident or domiciled outside the UK should consult with their professional advisers as to whether they require any governmental or other consents in order to enable them to invest, and with their tax advisers for advice relevant to their own particular circumstances.</p>
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UK Core Q2 update
Investment specialist Kathleen Hunter reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Seeking out superior potential
We aim to outperform the FTSE All-Share Index by at least 1 per cent per annum over rolling five-year periods.
To achieve this, we aim to identify well-managed, high-quality growth companies which enjoy sustainable competitive advantages. We seek out businesses that have the potential to deliver superior earnings growth over many years and hold onto them long enough for their strengths to emerge as the dominant influence on share prices.
We also take stewardship seriously, meeting with management and boards regularly, voting thoughtfully at general meetings and advocating for change where needed.
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.
A diverse blend of growth companies
The portfolio has between 45-65 holdings. Therefore, it looks different to the broader UK equity index and has a high active share.
This is because we believe that to add value over the long term, we need to take a differentiated approach.
Given this is a core portfolio, it has a diverse blend of exposure to different types of growth companies – some will grow very rapidly, others will compound over time. Though we can group our holdings into several exciting themes, we aim to have a broad exposure to all.
Meet the managers
Iain McCombie
Iain is the head of our UK Equity Team and joint manager of the UK Core Strategy. He is also the joint manager on our flagship Managed Strategy, which he has been involved in since 2000. Iain joined Baillie Gifford in 1994 and became a partner of the firm in 2005. He has previously spent time on the US Equities Team. Iain graduated MA in Accountancy from the University of Aberdeen and subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
James Smith
Investment ManagerJames is an investment manager in the UK Equity Team. He is joint manager of the UK Core Strategy and lead manager for Great British Growth. James joined Baillie Gifford in 2022, and prior to joining the firm, worked as a senior investment manager at ADIA in Abu Dhabi covering UK Equities. He began his career at Martin Currie in Edinburgh in 2012. James graduated BSc (Hons) in Economics from UCL in 2010.
Documents
Philosophy and process
Explore our investment philosophy and the processes around how the team constructs the portfolio.
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.
Strategy portfolio holdings
A list of the top 10 holdings that the representative portfolio invests in.
All figures up to: 31 May 2026
| # | Holding | % of total assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AstraZeneca | 6.4% |
| 2 | Rio Tinto | 5.7% |
| 3 | HSBC | 5.2% |
| 4 | Standard Chartered | 5.1% |
| 5 | Prudential | 3.9% |
| 6 | Marks and Spencer Group | 3.5% |
| 7 | Babcock International Group | 3.1% |
| 8 | Legal & General | 3.0% |
| 9 | Unilever | 2.6% |
| 10 | Bunzl | 2.6% |
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.
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.
Insights
Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:
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Insights
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UK Core Q2 update
Investment specialist Kathleen Hunter reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
UK Core Q1 update
Investment specialist Kathleen Hunter reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
UK Core Q4 update
Investment manager James Smith reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Growing Growth
Why investing in UK public companies matters.
UK Core Q3 update
Investment manager James Smith reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Our best UK ideas
Chloe Darling-Stewart on why the UK’s Autotrader, Moonpig and Genus are hidden treasures.
The power of purpose
Why firms with a passion to improve customers’ lives do better.
UK Core Q2 update
Investment manager Iain McCombie reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Actual investing revisited
In this keynote paper Partner Stuart Dunbar reaffirms the importance of active management to healthy capitalism.
UK growth: opportunities amid tariff turbulence
How adaptable firms in growth-driving sectors can prosper over the long term despite trade restrictions.
UK Core Q1 update
The UK Core Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.
Saving when sending abroad: a Wise move
With international payments a profitable afterthought for the banks, it’s been left to a newcomer to build the best way of moving money around the world.
Wise: Money Without Borders
Co-founder and CEO of digital payments platform Wise explains how a customer-centric approach is helping revolutionise global money movement.
Stock story: Diploma
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View transcript
<p><strong>Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. </strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US"><strong>Kathleen Hunter: </strong>When markets lose confidence, they become increasingly short-term and more sensitive to events.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Volatility rises. Stocks are bucketed together. And simple labels start to take hold.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">AI winners. AI losers. Safe havens. Domestic cyclicals.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">This type of environment can create significant mispricing, which long-term fundamental growth investors can capitalise on.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And dramatic share price moves underpinned by short-term newsflow can become vulnerable to reversal when the narrative changes. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The clearest example this year has been oil. <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Prices spiked as investors worried about disruption linked to the conflict in Iran, before giving back most of those gains by quarter end. That created a turbulent period for the oil majors, which went from dominant drivers of index returns in the first quarter to notable underperformers in the second.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And there are echoes of this behaviour in software and technology stocks.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Earlier this year, concerns about AI led investors to group companies and mark them down sharply. Many are still caught up in the “AI loser” narrative. But in some cases, that pressure has started to ease and the market has looked again at the </span>customer relationships, the data advantages and the economics of individual businesses. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">The label came first. But, to some extent, the fundamentals have started to come back into focus.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">This quarter, the UK Core Strategy delivered positive absolute and relative performance. We don’t want to overstate one quarter. A few months do not settle a long-term investment case.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">But the quarter did show what can happen when the market starts to differentiate broad narratives from the fundamental characteristics of individual companies.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And Softcat is a good example of this. It was amongst the UK Core Strategy’s top performers this quarter.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And it’s an IT infrastructure and services provider that we bought for strategy earlier this year, when its share price was weighed down by concerns that AI would disrupt parts of its market. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">We thought that interpretation was too blunt.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">In our view, AI is not making IT easier for companies. If anything, it is making it more complicated. Businesses need to work out what technology to use, how it fits with their existing systems, how to manage the risks, and how to make sure it actually delivers value.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">And this plays to Softcat’s strengths: it has long-standing customer relationships, strong vendor partnerships and a track record of helping companies make sensible technology decisions. And in its latest update showed that it is already benefiting from demand for AI-related infrastructure.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Elsewhere, having no exposure to Shell and BP also supported relative performance. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In terms of detractors this quarter, Babcock was amongst the laggards as UK defence companies derated, partly due to profit-taking after strong returns <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">last year and partly as investors waited for greater clarity on the delayed Defence Investment Plan. With regards to Babcock specifically, the company also reported a £140mn charge on its Type 31 frigate contract which was disappointing and highlights the execution risk in complex defence programmes. However, we don’t believe this undermines the long-term investment case. Its underlying results were otherwise very reassuring, with progress in revenue, margins, cash generation and debt reduction. Management also reaffirmed guidance, increased the dividend and announced a further buyback. More broadly, Babcock remains a strategically important partner to the UK and allied governments, with entrenched positions in defence and nuclear, good revenue visibility and structural support from rising defence spending.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">In terms of trading, we continued to work through a really strong pipeline of new ideas this quarter and purchased two new holdings: Scottish and Southern Energy and Helios Towers.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">SSE is a UK energy infrastructure business which combines relatively stable, regulated earnings from electricity networks with a long runway for growth due to the need to modernise the UK grid and connect more renewable power to the rest of the country. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Helios Towers owns and operates telecom towers across Africa and the Middle East. We expect demand for mobile data in these markets to grow significantly, and for Helios Towers to benefit as customers rely more heavily on its infrastructure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">To summarise - Performance this quarter was encouraging. But it is only a start.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">There is still a long way to go before the portfolio’s long-term growth potential is properly reflected in share prices.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Artificial intelligence, geopolitics, interest rates and near-term economic data all matter. But they do not affect every company in the same way.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Our job is to look through the labels and ask how change affects the long-term economics of each business.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">Is the market reacting to the facts, or simply reacting to the narrative?</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">For long-term fundamental growth investors, that is not just a challenge. It is an opportunity.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" lang="EN-US">The recovery in performance this quarter is welcome, but we believe that the bigger opportunity is still to come.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="TABLEHEADER1212pt">UK Core</h3>
<p><strong>Annual past performance to 30 June each year (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 75.1516px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;"> </td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.5071%;"><strong>2022</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2023</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2024</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2025</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 11.2456%;"><strong>2026</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">UK Core Composite (gross)</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border: 1pt solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-24.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">15.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 0.75pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.9</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">21.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">5.5</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">UK Core Composite (net)</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-24.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">14.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.4</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">20.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">4.9</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.7879px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.7879px; width: 43.4131%;">FTSE All Share index*</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.5071%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">-10.6</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">12.9</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">12.3</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">20.5</p>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" style="border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 14.1pt; width: 11.2456%; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">18.1</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Annualised returns to 30 June 2026 (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 92.5px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 37px;">
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 61.3276%;"> </td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 13.0762%;"><strong>1 year</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 12.684%;"><strong>5 years</strong></td>
<td style="border-width: 1px 1px 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: initial; padding: 10px; height: 37px; width: 12.8147%;"><strong>10 years</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">UK Core Composite (gross)</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border: 1pt solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 5.5</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">4.0 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">7.3 </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">UK Core Composite (net)</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 4.9</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">3.5 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">6.7 </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.5px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.5px; width: 61.3276%;">FTSE All Share index*</td>
<td width="13%" style="width: 13.0762%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; border-style: none solid solid; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"> 18.1</p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.684%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">10.0 </p>
</td>
<td width="12%" style="width: 12.8147%; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; border-style: none solid solid none; border-color: currentcolor rgb(204, 204, 204) rgb(204, 204, 204) currentcolor; padding: 7.5pt; height: 13.9pt; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal">8.6 </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<div>Source: Revolution, FTSE. US dollars. Net returns have been calculated by reducing the gross return by the highest annual management fee for the composite. 1 year figures are not annualised.</div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Past performance is not a guide to future returns.</strong></div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>Legal notice: FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”) © FTSE 2025. “FTSE ®” is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE International Limited under licence. All rights in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings vest in FTSE and/or its licensors. Neither FTSE nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the FTSE indices and/or FTSE ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any FTSE indices, ratings and/or data underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of FTSE Data is permitted without FTSE’s express written consent. FTSE does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication.</div>
<div></div>
<p><strong>Risk factors </strong> <br>This communication was produced and approved in June 2026 and has not been updated subsequently. It represents views held at the time and may not reflect current thinking.</p>
<p>The views expressed should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a particular investment. They reflect opinion and should not be taken as statements of fact nor should any reliance be placed on them when making investment decisions.</p>
<p>This communication contains information on investments which does not constitute independent research. Accordingly, it is not subject to the protections afforded to independent research, but is classified as advertising under Art 68 of the Financial Services Act (‘FinSA’) and Baillie Gifford and its staff may have dealt in the investments concerned.</p>
<p>All information is sourced from Baillie Gifford & Co and is current unless otherwise stated. </p>
<p>The images used in this communication are for illustrative purposes only.</p>
<p> <br><strong>Important information</strong><br>Baillie Gifford & Co and Baillie Gifford & Co Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Baillie Gifford & Co Limited is an Authorised Corporate Director of OEICs.</p>
<p>Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited provides investment management and advisory services to non-UK Professional/Institutional clients only. Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited is wholly owned by Baillie Gifford & Co. Baillie Gifford & Co and Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited are authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK. </p>
<p>Persons resident or domiciled outside the UK should consult with their professional advisers as to whether they require any governmental or other consents in order to enable them to invest, and with their tax advisers for advice relevant to their own particular circumstances.</p>
<p><strong>Financial intermediaries</strong><br>This communication is suitable for use of financial intermediaries. Financial intermediaries are solely responsible for any further distribution and Baillie Gifford takes no responsibility for the reliance on this document by any other person who did not receive this document directly from Baillie Gifford.</p>
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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.