Video

International Concentrated Growth Q1 review

April 2026 / 25 min

Overview

In this webinar, investment specialist Paul Taylor reviews the International Concentrated Growth Strategy’s performance and positioning through Q1 2026.

View transcript
<p><strong>Your capital is at risk. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Katie Shepardson (KS):</strong> Hello, everyone, and welcome to our first quarter International Concentrated Growth update.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My name is Katie Shepardson, Client Relationship Director on our US Intermediaries Team here at Baillie Gifford, and I'm thrilled to be joined today by Paul Taylor, Investment Specialist on the Strategy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Welcome, Paul, fantastic to have you.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Paul Taylor (PT):</strong> Hi, Katie, thanks for having us.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> We'd love to keep this conversation as interactive as possible, so please do feel free to drop any questions that arise into the Q&amp;A chat, and we will do our best to address those as we move along.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">To set the stage, it's worth noting that the information discussed in this webinar will be at a strategy level, so it may differ from the vehicle you're invested in.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A brief update on AUM before diving in: as of Q1, firmwide assets totalled $237bn with $1.6bn invested in our International Concentrated Growth Strategy. As a reminder, the Strategy was incepted in 2004 and now has a 22-year track record. It's our highest conviction international portfolio, currently at 28 holdings. Broadly, the portfolio invests in 20 to 35 transformational international growth companies with an investment horizon of five years or longer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, Paul, it's been a notably eventful start to the year with increased volatility across global equity markets. I think it would be helpful to start with your perspective on [the] international equity landscape over the past couple of months and potentially touch on our largest contributors and detractors in the landscape?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Sure, happy to. As I say, thank you for having me and good morning, everyone.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, this start to the year has been particularly interesting, shall we say. War, conflict in the Middle East has certainly been grabbing the headlines. You can see that across impacts from energy stocks performed very strongly, and you're probably feeling that at the gas pump as well. But international markets, the benchmark has essentially been flat over the quarter. But underneath that, there's been a lot of rotation at the sector and stock level. So energy leading, and that's really been grabbing the headlines.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But what's really been driving our performance over the quarter is the repricing that we've seen across businesses that the market thinks are exposed to agentic AI disruption. So, things have moved pretty swiftly. You can see it at the index level, international, and even sort of on the global scale: software sectors, entertainment and media sectors down between 20 percent and 30 percent.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And we don't have any, or very little, exposure to what MSCI call ‘software’. But we do have some digital native businesses like Spotify, like the Dutch payments business, Adyen, or Sea, the Indonesian ecommerce and fintech business. And those have been, we believe… ‘unfairly’ is the wrong word, but the market has assumed that their business models will be disrupted materially by AI, and we think it's far too early for such a strong judgment to be made. So those have been detractors for the quarter.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On the other side of the portfolio, we've seen some really strong performance from some of the semiconductor supply chain holdings like TSMC or ASML. So, those have been really strong.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Also, given what's been happening with oil prices, gas prices, holdings like BYD, the Chinese EV manufacturer, have been pretty strong. Because people are starting to, or the market's certainly starting to think about, if we are going to be going through a period of elevated energy costs, the stimulus for people to move onto electric vehicles will only be increasing. We've also seen that, not necessarily in the portfolio, but across the energy transition complex, battery companies, if you like, CATL has been doing very well on the back of this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, whilst the headlines have been gravitating towards the Gulf and the conflict there, it's really been the AI transition elements that have driven performance over the quarter.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Really helpful, thanks, Paul.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, picking up on those comments around AI, we seem to be in an exuberant phase of infrastructure build-out, similar to what we saw with railroads, PCs, the early internet, where periods of over-investment certainly co-existed with exceptional long-term winners emerging in the market.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are there any portfolio companies that we feel are particularly well-positioned to benefit from this trend?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Absolutely, yeah. I mean, we talk about this as the most valuable supply chain in the world today, which is some leading semiconductor manufacturing businesses. So if I run through the sort of chain of who sells what to who, ASML is a complete natural monopoly. They're the only company that makes EUV lithography machines capable of making leading-edge semiconductors. TSMC in Taiwan is the leading global chip foundry, making north of 90 percent of these leading-edge chips, and then selling them onto the likes of NVIDIA, Apple, and the like.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And we have ASML, TSMC, and NVIDIA in the portfolio. They're going through an absolutely extraordinary period of growth. We still acknowledge this is going to be a cyclical industry, but we've never seen a demand surge like we're seeing for these businesses at the moment. So it's not going to be a, you know, hold these in the same size forever, but certainly for the coming years ahead, all the signals we can see in the market that the supply is going to remain really tight positions these businesses super well.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And also, it's really important to point out that you don't really have to make a judgment on who the end beneficiaries and losers are. If the world needs huge demand for chips, huge demand for compute, these businesses look so well positioned to continue to benefit from that – regardless of the ultimate use of the chips.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah, absolutely. So, on the flip side, are there any businesses we've been monitoring more closely that could be susceptible to disruption or impairment as AI evolves?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> In the portfolio itself?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Yeah. The market, I think, has got the question broadly right in terms of how will AI impact some of these businesses. But the conclusion has already been drawn, if you know what I mean.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, some of the stocks I mentioned earlier in terms of Adyen, Sea, Spotify, they are digital businesses. I think it's really important to remember that their secret sauce, if you like, has never been just writing code. I think we now have to assume that ability to code is a commodity, and intelligence of a certain sort is essentially limitless. So, once you look things through that lens, you think, what's the actual impact on their business models, if everyone can write limitless amounts of code in years to come?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, we're looking at them. We think we have a collection of businesses that are really well-placed to remain highly relevant in their niches – super-embedded in client workflows or super-embedded in consumers’ lives. Certainly Spotify is a great example there.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But thinking about Adyen, thinking about the requirement for secure payment rails, in an age where we think identity theft is potentially increasing with agentic AI, people being able to [make] fraudulent transactions, you still need really secure rails and the element of trust. Adyen is able to bring that element of security in an increasingly digital world. So, we think they're actually quite well-placed to continue to add value to the ecosystem they operate in. So, whilst the performance has been a bit painful at the start of the year, we think that they’re really well-placed to continue to add value to customers and add value to the portfolio, ultimately.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah. So, you mentioned Sea Limited. We saw another dominant ecommerce fintech player, MercadoLibre, in Latin America come under some pressure this quarter.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Has this been predominantly driven by the broader SaaS sell-off or is there a company-specific factors at play specifically impacting kind of these ecomm and fintech players?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> It's always really hard to put a precise finger on what's driven a share price, certainly over a short period of time. I think it's probably fair to say there's an element of the SaaS sell-off in terms of the question that people are asking about how agentic AI will impact ecommerce. Will there be AI bots intermediat[ing] the customer from the platform, and what does that do to these business models?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In MercadoLibre's case, there's actually a lot more going on at the moment than just that. They have a huge opportunity to invest, and continue to invest, in their business. So last year, they announced a $3.4bn investment in infrastructure in Mexico. We've seen them do a similar, play a similar game in Brazil. And that's developed what we call a really hard edge, because getting things the last mile in delivery is a really, really tough challenge. So they have the capital to invest and build the infrastructure and they're now doing it in Mexico.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">They've opened up a couple of new facilities in Argentina. They're actually inaugurating a first Chinese warehouse, in order to make the shipment of goods from China over to Latin America as smooth and frictionless as possible. But that's weighing on margin near-term, so the market doesn't always like that.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And it's a similar story in their fintech business. They issued something like 3 million credit cards last quarter, so the loan book's now up to about $12.5bn. And when you're building that type of business, you have customer acquisition costs. You also have to take the provisions up-front as well. So, again, pressure on the near-term margin, but the investment for long-term value creation is huge.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, yeah, there's lots of moving parts to MeLi. Some of it's the SaaS sell-off, but some of it, or I think a larger portion of it, is the lower earnings today that the market's not liking, but the opportunity for the value that they're going to be creating further down the line is something that we strongly support management in, in terms of the decisions they're making.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah, absolutely. We've seen that play out before to our benefit over the long term.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, turning to geopolitics, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Does the portfolio have any direct exposure to the region? And are there any holdings experiencing operational impacts as a result of the conflict?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> So no, we have no holdings in Middle Eastern companies directly.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thinking about the transition mechanisms, I think beyond higher energy costs, which will impact all businesses globally to some extent or another, I think the luxury holdings may see a few soft quarters. Again, not held in the portfolio, but LVMH have been out recently talking about softer trading because of, one, lower tourist levels flowing through the Middle East and that impacting luxury spending, but also footfall in the malls of Dubai, Abu Dhabi. So Kering and Hermès are our two luxury holdings. They may see a few softer quarters, but over a five-year time horizon, I don't think there's any material impact there in their businesses.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">One fun fact that I found out recently: Qatar is responsible for around 35 percent of the world's helium production. Helium is an absolutely essential input for microchip production. So, if the Strait of Hormuz remains impassable for a protracted period, we'll start to see knock-on effects in terms of chip production capacity. That's going to flow through to everyone, like Apple, it's going to flow through so many different places. So, there's lots of second, third and fourth order impacts that could be coming down the track.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Agriculture is a similar element. We don't have exposure in the portfolio, but your fertiliser costs have been rising. So there's a lot of linkages in that chain, but I think the luxury and potentially the semi[conductor] production would be the most obvious for the portfolio.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah, that is a fun fact. I had not heard that. Let's hope that's not the case.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, defense companies have come into sharper focus amid rising global tensions, which brings us to our recent addition in the portfolio this quarter, Exail. Paul, could you share with us a bit more about the company and the investment case for owning it today?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong>&nbsp; Yeah, of course. The timing of buying this looks like a much bigger- it's much more coincidental than it actually is. We took a holding in Exail in one of our other strategies, Global Discovery, last year, and decided to add it to International Concentrated Growth before the conflict in the Gulf started.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Exail, it's a French business. They are the leading manufacturer of subsea and maritime robotics, drones, minesweeping technology. So, there's a rather large demand for their services at the moment in the Middle East. But this is something we've been thinking about much longer than just the past few months. We've been thinking, we're growth investors, we will look for growth wherever we can find it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And in an increasingly contested world, we've been looking for technology in the defense area that we could really get behind. The funny thing about defense tech is that there tends to be very little innovation between conflicts. And then, when the next war starts, it's fought in a very different way than the last one was.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And we've seen drone technology being adopted in Ukraine. We're seeing it in the Middle East as well. And Exail offers the subsea version of a lot of these drone companies, providing guidance where GPS is being knocked out or spoofed, allowing militaries to operate in pretty harsh environments in an unmanned, very sort of, safe way for the personnel. There are civil applications as well, but the real attraction to us was the military application.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah, fascinating. Exail is certainly a unique addition in that it's our sole defense holding, yet it certainly aligns with our broader focus on companies benefiting from significant growth opportunities.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, beyond the transformational growth, could you share with us a couple of common characteristics across the portfolio that tend to drive or enhance the team's conviction?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Yeah, sure. If you could bring up the next slide.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We find this really interesting – this is not a target that we have, but over 70 percent of the portfolio is run, owned, by either founders or family organisations. In some instances, like Hermès, going back hundreds of years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Exail is exactly, very similar. The George family own around 45 percent of the outstanding shares, and Raphael George is the CEO and chairman. So, it's a family business, essentially.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why that matters is what we think is interesting. It's alignment. So, as you mentioned at the start, we're investing on a five-plus year view. And we find that over that sort of time period, there will be some critical decisions that management teams generally have to make along the way. And family or founder-led businesses tend to think along the long-term shareholder value creation mindset, rather than a professional management team.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I use that term quite loosely, it doesn't mean that founder and family-run businesses aren't professional. But if you've got a management team who's been brought in who may be incentivised over slightly shorter time horizons around earnings growth per year, it's all around the incentives. And they can, we've found over the long term, make some decisions that maybe damage or don't capitalise on the opportunity in front of a business appropriately.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, Exail is a really good new example of that. But it's just something that we've, as I say, we don't target it, but it's a really common feature of some of the businesses that we find are run really well.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> How was the purchase of Exail funded, Paul?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> We've got one, one and a half percent now. That was funded with reductions in some stocks that perform very strongly. So, over the last few years, TSMC, ASML, as I mentioned earlier, been doing really well. So, just right-sizing those positions. And also a very, very little bit out of MercadoLibre – which, although it has been slightly weaker this quarter, has been an exceptionally strong performer over the last few years for the portfolio.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Sure. Given our patient approach, you know, about two-thirds of the portfolio has been held in excess of five years. We haven't seen a new addition in some time.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Speaking to the sell discipline, what specifically has to change for the team to lose conviction and decide that it's time to move on?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Yeah, I think the sales generally fall into three broad categories.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We sold Tesla at the start of 2025 after 10-plus years, some fabulous returns for shareholders, but Its opportunity in EVs was pretty well understood. We couldn't really underwrite the autonomous side of their business, and robotics was just a bit too pie in the sky in terms of putting a valuation on it at the moment. So, essentially, we got what we came for, and that's the best reason to sell, I suppose.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Others would be, we got our analysis wrong. So, in some cases, what we thought we were buying just didn't pan out the way that we thought it would. An example there would be SolarEdge. We bought SolarEdge, I think, maybe four years ago. It's a solar inverter business. But it really struggled to deliver the growth that we were looking for. But what we'd rather do is recognize that as early as we can. and then move on. If we're going to fail, we want to fail early and fail well, if you like, rather than hanging on.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And the third category would be where there's a breakdown in trust in management. And this, again, comes back to the governance question. We want to be backing management teams who apply capital in the appropriate way, we think, for the long-term health of the businesses. So if we think that the decisions that management are making are contrary to that, we can sell under those reasons as well.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Yeah, absolutely. That's really helpful.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And looking ahead, Paul, could you share the team's outlook for the portfolio, and any of the key structural trends underpinning that view?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>PT:</strong> Yeah, so thinking five years ahead, some of the companies in this portfolio will have gone on to do some absolutely extraordinary things.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We've got Moderna in the portfolio. It's been a rough few years for Moderna coming out of the Covid pandemic, but if you think forward five years, they could be sitting on one of those valuable drugs in the world, partnered with US Merck curing cancers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you think about BYD, could they have gone on to be the global dominant car manufacturer? Looking at semiconductor supply chains, these businesses just could keep growing and growing, because we're in a kind of industrial revolution we haven't seen since the railroads, as you pointed out.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, there's a huge amount of change going on in the world at the moment, and we think we've got a really special portfolio of businesses that are exposed to various aspects of that change or driving that change.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, coming back to the start, recent performance has been difficult, but we continue to back the portfolio that we've got here of these transformational growth businesses.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong>KS:</strong> Thank you, Paul. Really an insightful overview and much appreciated.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, if you, as our audience, would like to explore any of these topics in further detail, please don't hesitate to reach out as we'd be thrilled to continue the conversation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As many of you know, this session is part of our quarterly webinar series, and we'd love for you to join us for the upcoming sessions, all commencing at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow, our colleagues on the International Alpha team will be sharing their perspectives; Wednesday, Emerging Markets takes the stage; and Thursday, we'll conclude the series with our International Growth Strategy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We truly appreciate you spending part of your morning with us. Wishing you all a wonderful week, and we look forward to seeing you next time.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3 class="TABLEHEADER1212pt">International Concentrated Growth</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: 74.6668px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 18.6667px;"> <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: 18.6667px;">&nbsp;</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: 18.6667px; text-align: right;"><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: 18.6667px; text-align: right;"><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: 18.6667px; text-align: right;"><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: 18.6667px; text-align: right;"><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: 18.6667px; text-align: right;"><strong>2026</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 18.6667px;"> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px;">International Concentrated Growth Composite (gross)</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-19.8</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-9.2</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">9.8</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">9.7</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">1.9</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 18.6667px;"> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px;">International Concentrated Growth Composite (net)</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-20.3</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-9.7</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">9.0</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">9.0</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">1.2</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 18.6667px;"> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px;">MSCI ACWI ex US Index</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-1.0</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">-4.6</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">13.8</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">6.6</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; text-align: right;">25.6</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;<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%;">&nbsp;</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: right;"><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: right;"><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: right;"><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 Concentrated Growth Composite (gross)</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 13.1043%; text-align: right;">1.9</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: right;">-2.2</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: right;">13.1</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 Concentrated Growth Composite (net)</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 13.1043%; text-align: right;">1.2</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: right;">-2.8</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: right;">12.4</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: right;">25.6</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.713%; text-align: right;">7.6</td> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px; height: 18.6667px; width: 12.844%; text-align: right;">8.9</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><span class="source-text"><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.</span></p> <p><strong>Past performance is not a guide to future returns.</strong></p> <p><span class="source-text">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.</span></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 &amp; Co and is current unless otherwise stated.&nbsp;</p> <p>The images used in this communication are for illustrative purposes only.</p> <h3>Important information</h3> <p>Baillie Gifford &amp; Co and Baillie Gifford &amp; Co Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Baillie Gifford &amp; 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 &amp; Co. Baillie Gifford &amp; Co and Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited are authorised and regulated by the FCA in the UK.&nbsp;</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></p> <p>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> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span class="source-text">194419 10062464</span></p>

About the speaker