View transcript
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. </strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Beatrice Faleri</strong>: The first quarter of 2026 was one of the most volatile in recent memory, and the portfolio underperformed the benchmark. We know that this extends a period that has tested your patience, and we don’t take that lightly. But we’re looking at the future with real conviction and optimism, and I want to explain why. In the first two months of the year, a handful of themes continued to drive markets. Growth continued to lag value, with banks, defence and commodity producers leading. In March, war in the Middle East intensified this trend and led to a broad market sell-off.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Software and consumer platforms fell further amidst AI disruption fears. The derating of software and consumer internet platforms was the most significant drag on performance for the strategy. Any hint of softer guidance in this environment is punished disproportionately. Tencent Music Entertainment is an example of this. It fell sharply after subscriber growth slowed despite revenues and margins continuing to expand. The Middle East conflict also weighed on Ryanair through rising fuel prices and pressure on discretionary spending, but it didn’t dent our confidence in the company’s ability to navigate geopolitical and macro crises better than competitors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, your semiconductor holdings were bright spots, driven by continued AI CAPEX and supply constraints in chip manufacturing. Samsung reported record revenues and operating profits on historically high memory prices, while TSMC exceeded expectations with strong N2 yields and progress in advanced packaging. Your energy and material holdings also benefited as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz stoked fears of energy shortages. Petrobras and B3 were among the strongest contributors, as Brazil’s role as a major oil exporter moved to the fore. But beyond all this quarterly noise, the investment landscape is changing in deeper, more enduring ways, and we’ve been positioning the portfolio accordingly. We see three structural forces at work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first is higher interest rates, driven by global uncertainty and macroeconomic frictions. In this environment, providers of capital earn structurally higher returns, which is why we’ve been adding exposure to financials. Credicorp, the dominant bank in Peru, is one example. Financial penetration remains low in the country, and the success of its super app, Yape, now reaching 70 percent of the adult population, is accelerating growth. KBC, a leading Belgian bank-insurer, is another recent purchase, combining a resilient deposit franchise with exciting growth opportunities in Eastern Europe. Both offer durable growth, strong management and a price that does not reflect the opportunity, in our view.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The second force is the reversal of globalisation. Every reshoring decision, every duplicated supply chain creates demand for physical inputs, energy and infrastructure. We have added copper exposure through Lundin Mining and Zijin Mining to high-quality miners in Latin America and Asia. We also bolstered energy holdings with Petrobras in Brazil and Total Energies in France, and added exposure along the energy transmission and storage value chain through CATL, the Chinese global leader in battery technology. The third and final force is AI, whose transformative potential is only matched by the market dislocation and uncertainty it is creating. We seek balanced exposure across the AI value chain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We took profits from semiconductor holdings that have run, and recycled that capital into names like SoftBank, which offers exposure to the AI build-out beyond semis. We’re also carefully assessing the threat AI poses to software holdings. We believe the market has been too quick to separate winners and losers. We’ve exited the names most vulnerable to disruption while retaining, and in some cases adding to, higher-conviction businesses like Shopify, Scout24 and Experian. The breadth of these changes means turnover this quarter has been higher than you’re accustomed to seeing for our strategy, and we want to be upfront about that. But it’s not unprecedented.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This strategy has navigated regime change before. For example, repositioning into financials, industrials and energy after the dot-com crash, and into rapid-growth companies in the early 2010s, as low rates and the digital transformation took shape. In both these cases, elevated portfolio activity reflected the breadth of the opportunity, and the strategy delivered some of its strongest returns. Our philosophy is what gives us the room to adapt when the landscape demands it. The result today is a portfolio whose fundamentals have rarely looked stronger, relative to both the index and its own history. Earnings growth, delivered and forecast, is meaningfully higher than the market.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Your holdings are growing faster than the index, while being more resilient and profitable. The valuation premium to the benchmark has fallen to its lowest level since 2010, with a third of holdings at or below the market multiple. This combination, intact quality, compressed valuation and a broader base of growth drivers, puts the portfolio in a strong position to deliver outperformance. Our philosophy, our team and the quality of the companies that you own are the foundation that allow us to be nimble. Over two decades, International Alpha has outperformed in over 80 percent of rolling five-year periods through cycles that were, at the time, as severe as this one. We remain disciplined, we remain confident, and I look forward to updating you on progress from here.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you for watching.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<h3 class="TABLEHEADER1212pt">International Alpha </h3>
<p><strong>Annual past performance to 31 March each year (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 92.9923px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 18.6641px;">
<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: 18.6641px;"> </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: 18.6641px; text-align: center;"><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: 18.6641px; text-align: center;"><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: 18.6641px; text-align: center;"><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: 18.6641px; text-align: center;"><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: 18.6641px; text-align: center;"><strong>2026</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 37px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px;">International Alpha Composite (gross)</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px; text-align: center;">-15.8</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px; text-align: center;">-5.0</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px; text-align: center;">9.7</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px; text-align: center;">5.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 37px; text-align: center;">7.9</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.6641px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px;">International Alpha Composite (net)</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">-16.3</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">-5.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">9.0</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">5.0</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">7.2</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.6641px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px;">MSCI ACWI ex US Index</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">-1.0</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">-4.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">13.8</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">6.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6641px; text-align: center;">25.6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Annualised returns to 31 March 2026 (%)</strong></p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-width: 0px; height: 93.0001px;">
<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: 61.3387%;"> </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: 13.1043%; text-align: center;"><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: 12.713%; text-align: center;"><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: 12.844%; text-align: center;"><strong>10 years</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.6667px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 61.3387%;">International Alpha Composite (gross)</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 13.1043%; text-align: center;">7.9</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: center;">0.0</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: center;">7.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.6667px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 61.3387%;">International Alpha Composite (net)</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 13.1043%; text-align: center;">7.2</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: center;">-0.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: center;">6.9</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 18.6667px;">
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 61.3387%;">MSCI ACWI ex US Index</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 13.1043%; text-align: center;">25.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: center;">7.6</td>
<td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: center;">8.9</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> Revolution, MSCI. 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.<br><br></p>
<p><strong>Past performance is not a guide to future returns.</strong></p>
<p>Legal notice: MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indexes or any securities or financial products. This report is not approved, endorsed, reviewed or produced by MSCI. None of the MSCI data is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such.</p>
<h3>Risk factors </h3>
<p>This communication was produced and approved in April 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><strong>Important information<br></strong>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>





