Integrating ESG into company research requires rigour, nuance and a long-term perspective says Marianne Harper Gow.

Everyone wants to make a difference, and capital thoughtfully and responsibly deployed is a powerful mechanism for change. In seeking out companies whose products and services are providing solutions to global challenges, we believe a proactive investment approach can also be the basis of attractive investment returns. Investment Managers Kate Fox and Lee Qian explain why positive change really matters.

Ben Drury, client director, talks to Helen Xiong, an investor and soon-to-be key decision maker for the Global Alpha strategy. Helen explains what she has learnt from her past experience with Baillie Gifford, what she will bring to the team in her new role, and what she is excited about moving forward.

Three decades into running dedicated Asian ex Japan portfolios, what is it that we can see that the market does not? We explain how our investment approach – the search for fat tails – allows us to exploit persistent market inefficiencies to the benefit of our clients.

Our investment process at Baillie Gifford is founded on the long-term ownership of growing businesses. Our ‘bottom-up’ approach to stock selection leads us to focus on trying to understand the fundamental drivers behind individual businesses. We typically hold these investments for five to ten years – long enough for the fundamentals to emerge as the dominant influence on share prices. Cultivating conviction in corporate governance and sustainability in its broadest sense is a critical part of this process.

In our second stewardship report we hope to shed some light on our activities in this area – why we do it, how we do it, and some of the successes and disappointments.

Income investing has been shaken by the coronavirus, but how will this affect the dividend payers of the future? Baillie Gifford investment manager James Dow gives us a glimpse of the potential star performers of tomorrow.

Managers of the International Growth strategy Tom Coutts, Lawrence Burns, Brian Lum and Julia Angeles give an insight into their investment philosophy.

We are in an era of great convergence. The Health Innovation strategy seeks to support this era of change by looking out for innovative and pioneering companies that have the potential to bring substantial improvements to human health and healthcare systems.

One ought to be an optimist to invest in Emerging Markets, but so very few analysts are. Baillie Gifford’s Emerging Markets team explain how they fly in the face of market inefficiencies in their search for excess returns.

Charles Plowden explains how long-term stewardship is one of the four golden threads that weaves together to form the Global Alpha investment strategy.

For Full Year 2019, updating on contributions towards a more sustainable and inclusive world.

Introducing our second Global Stewardship ‘ESG’ Report, in which we redefine ESG to reflect our broader thinking on stewardship: for us ‘ESG’ encapsulates Engagement, Sustainability and Governance.

In a world of disruption, it's the winners that matter.

Interview with Stuart Dunbar.

You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it by investing in those businesses that will help create it. Jenny Davis turns to history to provide some context as to why she believes the unsung heroes of the modern economy will be the titans of the future.

Technological developments over recent decades mean reality has outpaced the science fiction of his youth since Mark Urquhart joined Baillie Gifford almost 25 years ago. Now, scanning the Covid-19 driven global economy, he sets out his enthusiasm and expectations for the next decade and beyond.

Dubbed the new electricity, artificial intelligence is intrinsic to the strategy and operations of many companies in the Long Term Global Growth portfolio. We look at how far artificial intelligence has come and consider where its superhuman ability to learn at speed will take us.

A recording of the webinar ‘Looking Beyond’, introduced by Liam Hoare, relationship manager at Baillie Gifford, with commentary from Stephen Corr and Joe Faraday, client directors of two of Baillie Gifford’s international strategy teams.

First to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the Asia ex Japan region is in robust health and its innovative companies are thriving. Roderick Snell surveys the Asian landscape and argues that Asia is where to look for superior long-term growth.

We stay positive for good reason. Our experience of investing and thinking about the long term gives us a sense of perspective and reminds us that our optimism will be rewarded in time.

There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’, or is there? The International Alpha Team explore what teamworking means for them, and why maintaining a diversity of views and experiences makes for a stronger team.

Our approach to stewardship is based on a set of key beliefs relating to how we think about governance and sustainability. This report looks at our Multi Asset Team’s stewardship activities for 2019.

Growth stocks have generally fared better than value stocks during the coronavirus downturn. Tom Slater, partner and head of Baillie Gifford’s US Equities Team explains why.

The best investment advice doesn’t grow old. When former Baillie Gifford Partner Edward Hocknell wrote ‘How to Invest in Equities and Stay Sane’ back in 2012, ‘global pandemic’ was just one on a list of scenarios for business continuity managers and civil servants to plan for.

Baillie Gifford’s first company-wide diversity and inclusion magazine about the individuals who make up our firm.

Medical developments are increasingly dependent on technology. Baillie Gifford investors look at some of the more innovative companies and their importance in the current pandemic, as well as considering how the situation we are living through will lay the foundations for a new era in healthcare, underpinned by data.

Are the abrupt changes brought about by the coronavirus (Covid-19) temporary or permanent? Dave Bujnowski considers how a post-coronavirus future may look, and where the biggest changes might be.

James Anderson discusses what we can learn about the effects of the coronavirus. Drawing on the work of experts such as Hans Rosling, James explores the monetary and fiscal transformation we are going through, concluding that the days of neo-liberalism are numbered. James also looks at what the crisis means for equity investors, asking what investments are now more valuable, and assesses the shift of global power towards Asia.

In times of stress stock markets, like people, often revert to act now, think later. Tim Garratt advocates doing the opposite. He reflects calmly on four key areas which will determine a company’s ability to survive the coronavirus (Covid-19) meltdown, by offering grounds for quiet optimism.

Fear of missing out on dividend payments has sustained investment in oil and tobacco companies for many years. Now, however, the returns are dwindling. And, as Scott Nisbet explains, the door is opening for investors who see investing with a conscience as being less about avoiding bad companies and more about backing good.

Twice a year we produce a Long Term Global Growth magazine called Looking Back Going Forward, which contains investment articles which we trust will be of interest. We are pleased to bring you the April 2020 issue.

Scott Nisbet tells Malcolm Borthwick what he’s learnt from previous crises, why he’s staying calm and why now’s the time to read Albert Camus.

Will Sutcliffe, Sophie Earnshaw and Mike Gush, investment managers in the Emerging Markets team with a combined total of 45 years’ experience, give an introduction to the team’s approach.

Our annual business update 2020.

Fifty years after Apollo 11, can a fresh wave of innovation in space technology open new frontiers and promising investment opportunities? Investment manager, Luke Ward looks across the gulf of space and gives us his views.

US Equity senior analyst Dave Bujnowski gives some insight into the thinking behind his paper A Case for Growth, with an introduction from client director Joseph Stellato and questions throughout from US Equity strategy specialist Ben James.

Long-Term Return Expectations sets out the Multi Asset team’s views, as at 31 December 2019, on the prospective returns for asset classes over cash over the next 10 years and beyond.

With their curiosity for learning undiminished, Global Alpha’s investment managers share where they think their quest for learning will take them in the year ahead.

Growing familiarity with China’s markets invites closer examination of governance at a country and corporate level. A company by company approach is vital to limit the risks and find the opportunities, writes Ben Lloyd.

Shareholders seem to be obsessed with short-term profits. We aren’t. Scott Nisbet proposes an alternative path, where patience with the right companies is rewarded, and a less direct route to profitability can lead eventually to a more valuable outcome.

Investment manager, Praveen Kumar explains why the Japanese cosmetics industry is in a period of rapid growth and how it could be set to continue for the long term.

The out-of-date negative perceptions surrounding emerging market government bonds means that for genuinely active managers, the asset class can provide great opportunities to add value.

It’s essential to be realistic and keep the risk of over-optimism in check. But there’s plenty to feel positive about in emerging markets, says Tim Erskine-Murray, who offers an insight into the reasons for his unwavering enthusiasm.

Two of Southeast Asia’s biggest nations are following China into rapid tech-led growth says Ewan Markson-Brown, manager of Pacific Horizon Investment Trust and co-manager of Baillie Gifford’s Pacific Fund.

Embracing asymmetry is one of the four golden threads that weaves together to form the Global Alpha strategy.

The big four incumbents in robotics are gearing up for a challenge. In a reshaping global industry, they are readying themselves for the march of the cobots.

Our support of inquisitive people plays a crucial role in our investment research. Discover more in our academia anthology.

An accompaniment to our annual Impact Report using a different lens to look at the contribution of the Positive Change portfolio to society.

Splitting hairs or a useful risk indictor? Allen Farrington addresses sector classification and why our industry has got it wrong when it comes to comparing technology companies.

Toby Ross on how we engage on responsible taxation.

Malcolm Borthwick is joined by investment manager Milena Mileva to discuss how profound changes in consumer behaviour are changing the retail landscape both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores.

Long-Term Return Expectations sets out the Multi Asset Team’s views, as at 30 June 2019, on the prospective returns for asset classes over the next 10 years, and beyond.

Investment manager James Squires explains why our Long-Term Return Expectations exercise is fundamental to our investment process, illustrating with a worked example of high yield credit.

Jenny Davis explores the Asian opportunity.

Disruptive forces are at play, and they are far more powerful and enduring than most would give credit for. Dave Bujnowski explores what the consequences are of this upheaval, and whether this is good or bad news for growth investors.

Stewardship really matters to us. Since 1908 the ownership and direction of Baillie Gifford has successfully passed from generation to generation of partners, preserving our independence and motivation. We believe that good stewardship marks the beginning of long-term value creation.

Stewardship really matters to us. Since 1908 the ownership and direction of Baillie Gifford has successfully passed from generation to generation of partners, preserving our independence and motivation. We believe that good stewardship marks the beginning of long-term value creation.

Investment Manager, Kate Fox explores how fashion might evolve from eco-culprit to eco-warrior, and where investment opportunities might arise along the way.

As our understanding of the concept of global continues to evolve, investment manager John MacDougall suggests that where a company happens to be based will not prevent it from building a high growth business in the future. As such, we must be prepared to see high-growth companies emerging from new locations across the globe. John explains how the Long Term Global Growth team are adapting their research to accommodate this.

Investment manager Mark Urquhart would love to see companies currently in the portfolio still having their place in it in 2050. For him, it is not enough for businesses to endure, they must adapt and, crucially, be brave enough to disrupt themselves, if they are to manifest growth for many years to come.

Tom Slater, head of Baillie Gifford’s US Equities team reports on how visionary businesses are looking beyond current market events and thinking about the future.

Industrial biotech companies can already produce synthetic spider silk and plant-based burgers that taste like meat. Future possibilities include timber produced from yeast. In the latest episode of our podcast, Kirsty Gibson tells Malcolm Borthwick why she's fascinated by the opportunities of industrial biotech and its enormous investment potential.

Baillie Gifford’s over-arching ethos is that we are ‘actual’ investors. Our approach to stewardship favours a small number of simple principles which help shape our interactions with companies.

Governance and Sustainability analysts Michelle O’Keeffe and Laura Thomson answer some of the most common climate change questions they are asked in relation to climate change and Baillie Gifford’s position regarding it.

Everyone wants to make a difference, and capital thoughtfully and responsibly deployed is a powerful mechanism for change. In seeking out companies whose products and services are providing solutions to global challenges, we believe a proactive investment approach can also be the basis of attractive investment returns. Investment Managers Kate Fox and Lee Qian explain why positive change really matters.

The Positive Change team use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to help identify and measure the contribution that individual companies are making to solving the global challenges that are facing our planet. So, what are they? And how do we use them?

There are many ways in which businesses can support the transition to a more sustainable world for current and future generations, so to make it easier for us to think about and articulate how companies are addressing global challenges, we have created four impact themes. Meet the members of the Positive Change team as they introduce the four themes.

With online companies currently dominating sales, it is widely expected that the need for tangible stores will continue to decrease, but Baillie Gifford has spotted a rise in forward-thinking companies who are utilising physical spaces to provide an innovative and interactive shopping experience.

In Baillie Gifford we have a very different perspective on 2018, and hence the future, than the one you will be used to reading about.

Almost unnoticed, Japanese management is changing for the better. Head of Japan Donald Farquharson looks at the transformation drawing on the experience of three decades of engagement.

As lifespans increase, more of us will inevitably encounter Alzheimer’s. Thankfully, new advances mean that we may be approaching a breakthrough in treating the disease. The Death of Alzheimer’s asks how Baillie Gifford can support this effort.

In his latest paper, James Anderson discusses Ben Graham’s book The Intelligent Investor, the seminal work on Value investing that remains as valid today as it did when he wrote it seven decades ago. James considers the author’s views and their implications for Growth investing in the current environment.

Stephen Corr makes the case for the defence of international equities, arguing that while the US market has been shrinking, international markets continue to expand.

To build great businesses, company management should understand how a company’s culture can affect shareholder value. Gary Robinson looks at how having a distinctive culture can create great opportunities for those looking to invest in thoughtfully managed companies.

Investment Manager Roddy Snell, in conversation with Malcolm Borthwick, goes behind some recent lurid headlines to find out what's really happening with the Chinese economy.

Global Stewardship offers a differentiated global equity portfolio, consisting of both Local Heroes and Global Champions. Mike Gush explains why this makes them different.

The investment management industry is often accused of failing to put clients’ interests first. Tom Coutts investigates and considers what we should be doing differently.

Investment managers Lawrence Burns and Paulina Sliwinska share thoughts on future trends with Professor Brian Arthur.

In this short series Baillie Gifford’s International Smaller Companies team explores how their radar framework helps them to uncover the most exciting small businesses from around the world.

In this short series Baillie Gifford’s International Smaller Companies team explores how their radar framework helps them to uncover the most exciting small businesses from around the world.

Focus magazine presents a collection of articles produced by members of Baillie Gifford’s International Focus Portfolio Construction Group and those who work closely alongside them. In the first edition, we explore the investment backdrop in China from a number of angles and throw the spotlight on Spotify, one of the more recent purchases and a reminder that not all great technology opportunities arise in Silicon Valley or Shanghai.

The search for new investment ideas can be a demanding journey. Joe Faraday draws comparisons with some of history’s great explorers and explains why he is excited by opportunities that lie beyond the horizon.

The Baillie Gifford US Equities team believes extended research trips are a valuable way of gaining deeper insight into companies and disruptive industries. Kirsty Gibson recently spent time in the US finding out about Synthetic Biology.

Investment manager Brian Lum explores how their radar framework helps Baillie Gifford’s International Smaller Companies team to uncover exciting small businesses around the world.

Our International Alpha team on why collaboration helps lead to wiser investment decisions.

Our International Alpha team on why collaboration helps lead to wiser investment decisions.

The future of medicine is likely to be fundamentally different from what we know today. Investment Manager, Rose Nguyen, discusses the technological advances that are likely to transform life science in the coming decades.

Many patients with kidney failure face an agonising wait for a donor or a life on dialysis. However, as Julia Angeles writes, new technologies may offer a brighter future.

In 2017, the Emerging Markets team wrote a paper called ‘Morbid Symptoms’, explaining why they were optimistic despite the confusion of political events in the West. A year on, Will Sutcliffe provides five more reasons to be cheerful about emerging market equities.

If capturing extremes is the key to investment returns, James Anderson sets out how we can improve our chances of investing well. He highlights the exponential long-term trends in energy, healthcare and technology that he believes will be at the heart of a dramatic implosion of the old order and will become the cornerstone of the new.

The story of investing is really the story of the big winners, those exceptional companies that reshape our world and in the process reap the rewards. Lawrence Burns sets out how a long-term and patient approach to investment is necessary to identify those truly great companies that could drive extreme returns.

Active management in emerging markets - Claire Gillies and Andrew Keiller explain why it is important to be selective rather than follow the index and outline the potential rewards such an approach can bring.

China may indeed be sitting at the bottom of an opportunity curve, but will its ‘new economy’ deliver, or will China go the same way as its neighbour, Japan? Andrew Keiller explains why China won’t be the next Japan.

Stuart Dunbar discusses the woes of what our industry has become alongside the potential opportunities presented by its somewhat over-evolved state.

Julia Angeles, an investment manager in the EAFE Alpha team, considers how scientific developments have led to changes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and why the current rate of progress is set to accelerate in the coming years. Angeles also explains why she opted to undergo genomic testing.

Three years ago, in the run-up to the Brexit vote, a single soundbite seemed to sum up the mood of one side of the debate, and indeed of a much broader, international populism that rejected received wisdom on many things, from immigration to immunisation. Michael Gove, one of the leading Brexiteers, was repeatedly quoted as having said, “I think the people of this country have had enough of experts...”.

In this short webcast, Multi Asset Investment Manager, Scott Lothian, and Governance & Sustainability Analyst, Laura Thomson, discuss the importance of our role as stewards of our clients’ capital and why we believe there is strong alignment between good governance and sustainability practices and achieving strong investment returns over the long term.

In our first Global Stewardship Governance and Sustainability Report, we reflect on the process of founding Global Stewardship, with particular focus on why we opted to take a slightly different approach to the task of investing responsibly.

It is taken for granted that stocklending is a harmless activity that can produce a little extra return with limited risk. But is this really so? Scott Nisbet investigates.

Technological and societal advances are often predictable, at times, almost inevitable. Ultimately, they are exploitable for the benefit of our clients. Tom Slater explains why this is so when investing in US equities.

We think ‘long-term investing’ and ‘ESG investing’ are synonymous. That’s why financially-relevant ESG considerations are integral to our investment process. Baillie Gifford’s International Equity Fund shares its approach to ESG matters, suggesting that it is a natural part of assessing the longer-term risks to a company’s growth opportunity or competitive advantage. And, something that is hard to replicate via a check-list or passive investing.

Japan often has a reputation for low dividend payments. Investment Manager, Karen See explains why this has not always been the case in the past and might not be in the future.

Twice a year we produce a Long Term Global Growth magazine called Looking Back Going Forward. We are pleased to bring you the latest issue, where in our lead article, Mark Urquhart shares some recent thoughts on artificial intelligence, and what its proliferation could mean for consumers, companies, and indeed every aspect of our lives.

The ACWI Alpha team reflects on why markets continue to be enthralled with short-term performance, despite the evidence pointing to the importance of taking a long-term investment approach.

Lee Qian discusses the recent evolution of impact investing and explains why the Positive Change strategy has both the ability and the responsibility to contribute to global progress.

Where do we get ideas for investment opportunities from? The ACWI Alpha team looks at some sources of inspiration and how we might make the best use of them.

Everyone agrees to the merits of long-term investing, if only in an abstract way. The International Alpha team look at what gets in the way of long-term investing and what can be done to mitigate it.

One of the most common misunderstandings about income investing is the confusion of long-term income with short-term yield. Investment manager Toby Ross sets the matter straight.

Brazil and the UK might be miles apart, but they do share at least one surprising commonality: a 3% inflation rate. As Sally Greig explains, structural changes in Brazil are starting to have an impact on the country’s changing fortunes.

To build great businesses, company management should understand how a company’s culture can affect shareholder value. Gary Robinson looks at how having a distinctive culture can create great opportunities for those looking to invest in thoughtfully managed companies.

For those navigating the investment world to seek out sources of income, the ability to understand connections and build an accurate mental map, is critical. Sally Greig sets the record straight on an often overlooked asset class – local currency EM bonds – suggesting that, contrary to popular belief, they may have a place in actively managed investment strategies.

At Baillie Gifford we don’t manufacture performance, our aim is to craft it. Kevin Fenelon notes that as important as a robust research framework is, if we are to find the right stocks, then our investors must be prepared to have an open mind, embrace risk and think creatively about the future.

Historical precedence would indicate that technological progress doesn’t cause long-run unemployment. With the phenomenal progress now being made in artificial intelligence, investment manager Lawrence Burns looks at why the new challenges it presents won’t change that.

Technological evolution continues to occur at an ever-increasing pace. Douglas Brodie looks at some of the areas likely to see the greatest change in the coming years, and the investment opportunities that will open up as a result.

The active investment industry as a whole appears to have done a better job of enriching itself than adding value for clients. Is it worth defending? Stuart Dunbar thinks so. He believes there is value in employing good active fund managers. He sets out the approaches that he believes are most likely to deliver outperformance for clients, suggests why investors and investment managers have failed to implement them and what should be done regarding it.

With the power to transform every trade and every industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is the future that is here today. Investment manager Lawrence Burns reflects on some of the recent developments in the field and speculates on what the brave and wonderful new world of AI might mean for us all.

Political uncertainty in developed markets may be grabbing headlines, but it’s not the full story for emerging markets. Investment manager Will Sutcliffe explains his optimism for the future, as the old grudgingly gives way to the new in certain emerging market economies.

Investment manager Julia Angeles strikes an optimistic note as she explores some of the recent developments in healthcare, which one day she hopes will bring an end to cancer.

Investment Manager Iain Campbell does not claim that Baillie Gifford’s investors are cleverer, have better systems or information, or that they work harder, travel further or construct more complex spreadsheets. Rather, he elaborates on an identifiable market inefficiency that our unusual structure and long-term philosophy allows us to exploit.

Whereas manufacturing once provided developing countries with a clear economic development path, robotics has made the route more challenging. Lawrence Burns explores the dilemma India now faces and suggests a possible route for its future development.

Kevin Fenelon illustrates that you don’t have to be an early riser to generate superior returns, but you must be prepared to hold stocks for multi-year periods if you are to capture the real benefits of growth.

The golden age for EM economic growth is over, but for some EM companies, the opportunity set may be far larger than anything EM investors have seen to date. Will Sutcliffe dispels some common misconceptions surrounding EM investing.

Joe Faraday shares his enthusiasm for the importance of cities as growth drivers, explaining how access to world-leading academics and their research has shaped his thinking.