Emerging markets have sometimes promised more than they have delivered, but circumstances may be tipping in growth investors’ favour. Will Sutcliffe, head of our Emerging Markets Team, explains why it’s an opportune time to invest in the asset class. Background: Will Sutcliffe is the head of Baillie Gifford’s Emerging Markets Team and co-manager of our Emerging Markets Leading Companies Fund. In this episode of Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking, he brings his 23 years of experience in the...

A new medicine that can help patients lose 15 per cent of their body weight could have far-reaching consequences for healthcare. Wegovy mimics a hormone the gut releases, reducing appetite and slowing digestion to delay hunger’s return. Research is also underway into other potential health benefits. In this podcast, Baillie Gifford investment manager Ross Mathison discusses its maker, the Danish pharmaceuticals manufacturer Novo Nordisk, which became Europe’s most valuable company in...

What distinguishes companies that will thrive from those that will perish? In this episode, we explore three traits that mark out the companies set to surge ahead from those more likely to struggle: 1.      They solve real-world problems2.      They are financially strong and disciplined3.      They are highly adaptable Baillie Gifford partner Tim Garratt discusses these characteristics, gives examples of companies that exhibit them and explains why this feels like a once-in-a-generation...

Show notesAmazon and DoorDash take different approaches to bridging the physical and digital worlds. Amazon has built an extensive infrastructure of warehouses, logistics ne...

Show notesAmazon and DoorDash take different approaches to bridging the physical and digital worlds. Amazon has built an extensive infrastructure of warehouses, logistics networks and data centres to directly control its operations. DoorDash instead relies on partnerships with restaurants and stores for deliveries, limiting its capital investment. In this podcast, Baillie Gifford investment manager Kirsty Gibson analyses the advantages of each model and how both approaches can pose a...

China became known as the world’s factory thanks to it offering companies a way to manufacture all kinds of goods at a high quality and relatively low cost. But in recent years, south-east Asian nations, including Vietnam and Indonesia, have begun challenging it for that status. Baillie Gifford investment manager Ben Durrant recently returned from a tour of the region. He discusses some of the long-term growth opportunities he unearthed on his trip. BackgroundBen Durrant invests on behalf of...

Is the time ripe for Japanese growth stocks? Donald Farquharson is Baillie Gifford’s head of Japanese equities and knows the market better than most. In the latest episode of Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking he draws on a recent visit to the country to explain why conditions seem favourable for a cohort of domestic companies with long-term mindsets. Background There’s a sense of renewed confidence and enthusiasm in the air in Japan. The country is home to the world’s second-largest...

What counts as a growth stock is ever-changing. Mark Urquhart shares lessons from 27 years of investing to explain how he decides what to buy and how long to hold as he continues his hunt for outsized returns. ...

Stuart Dunbar explains why a long-term investment approach suits the new types of growth companies that are emerging.Background:It’s been five years since Baillie Gifford launched its ‘actual investors’ campaign. It focuses on the firm’s long-term, active approach to growth.  In this episode, the effort’s mastermind Stuart Dunbar joins Malcolm Borthwick to take stock and explain why actual investing is more relevant than ever. As he explains, capital-intensive companies are seeking to...

To mark the pioneering Trust’s anniversary, James Dow delves into SAINTS’ origins and explains how he helped reinvigorate it for a new age.Background:The Scottish American Investment Company (SAINTS) made its debut in 1873, introducing the first trust to prevent shareholders from facing ruin if a business they backed failed. This groundbreaking approach instilled confidence, paving the way for the public to invest in a vital US railway among other enticing overseas opportunities.Nearly 20...

Keystone Positive Change’s Kate Fox on thinking about the world in 2050 to spot opportunities today.Background:Kate’s conversation with Malcolm Borthwick covers her work with the Deep Transitions Futures project, coordinated by the University of Sussex and Utrecht University and supported by Baillie Gifford.The project aims to identify patterns and insights from past ‘deep transitions’, such as the Industrial Revolution, to inform and guide our approach to identifying solutions to present and...

Meet the lesser-known niche players thriving in the shadow of the country’s big brands  Think of Japanese companies and chances are giants such as Sony, Hitachi and Mitsubishi come to mind. You probably don't think of Shima Seiki - a maker of automated knitting machines, Descente, which owns licences to use brands such as Le Coq Sportif and Umbro, or Shoei, a maker of handmade motorcycle helmets. But these kinds of companies are the beating heart of its economy. Japan’s three and a half...

As many question the future of growth investing, the American Fund’s Dave Bujnowski explores the new engines powering progress.

Kirsty Gibson and Julia Angeles on how technology is changing the way we do business.

Rose Nguyen on the companies seeking to overcome the scourge of heart disease.

Today’s outsized growth rarely follows a steady or predictable path, according to Kirsty Gibson of Baillie Gifford’s US Equities Team.

It’s a small country with a large number of businesses that can keep innovating and growing for decades. Stephen Paice explores what’s so great about Sweden.

Apps and online courses have upended the economics of education, making learning more accessible, fun and relevant. Positive Change’s Thaiha Nguyen explains.

For Peter Singlehurst, head of the Private Companies Team, the difference between investing in a private company and a public company is that private companies choose their shareholders. So, why choose Baillie Gifford?

‘Growth or value’ has framed many investment narratives. But Monks’ Malcolm MacColl explains the two aren’t at odds.

Over four decades Japan has seen 21 prime ministers come and go. Exporters such as Toyota and Toshiba have flourished but the country has also struggled with debt and deflation. Matthew Brett, manager of The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, discusses what’s next.

Chaos is often associated with a failure of leadership. Gary Robinson, manager of Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust, argues that the best bosses don’t resist disorder but channel it to create ‘chaordic organisations’ in which innovation thrives.

Are your investments as good for the environment and society as you think they are? Stuart Dunbar, partner at Baillie Gifford, explains why too many people have been lulled into a false sense of security by metrics-based approaches to ESG that don’t support the transition to a more sustainable society.

Messenger RNA vaccines could provide a solution not just to Covid, but to cancer, and other diseases. Julia Angeles, co-manager of Baillie Gifford’s Health Innovation Fund, discusses how.