This China growth fund gained 16% in net asset value over the past year (16.2% in share price), beating its benchmark's 4.6%, but it is still down over five years. Managers give no market view, only saying they pick stocks with big long-term upside over five-year horizons. Top holdings: ByteDance (14.1% of assets, the largest position), Tencent (9.8%), and Alibaba (5.6%). The fund holds 60 stocks, with the top ten roughly half the portfolio.
Baillie Gifford China Growth Trust aims to generate long-term capital growth by investing in a portfolio of Chinese companies, typically holding 40–80 stocks, with up to 20% of assets invested in unlisted companies. As of July 31, 2026, total assets stood at £192.68 million, ongoing charges were 1.0
In the year to 31 July 2026, the fund returned 16.0% on NAV and 16.2% on share price, significantly outperforming the benchmark (MSCI China All Shares) at 4.6%; over five years, however, cumulative NAV return was -14.7% and share price return -24.8%, both behind the benchmark's -3.1%.
| Basis | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share price | 16.2% | 29.4% | -24.8% | 29.9% |
| NAV | 16.0% | 30.8% | -14.7% | 23.0% |
| Benchmark (MSCI China All Shares) | 4.6% | 19.3% | -3.1% | 35.4% |
Annual performance (GBP-denominated total return, as of 30 June each year):
| Basis | 30/06/22 | 30/06/23 | 30/06/24 | 30/06/25 | 30/06/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share price | -33.4% | -33.6% | -7.9% | 24.9% | 25.5% |
| NAV | -27.1% | -27.5% | -10.2% | 26.2% | 22.3% |
| Benchmark | -15.1% | -21.6% | -3.6% | 17.6% | 13.3% |
Note: On 16 September 2020, the benchmark was switched from MSCI AC Asia ex Pacific to MSCI China All Shares, with data chain-linked before and after; all performance figures are GBP-denominated total returns (dividends reinvested). This section is a static data page and does not disclose the month's gain/loss or attribution by individual stock/sector.
The report makes no judgment on market direction or macro outlook, and merely reiterates its investment stance: a five-year horizon, a strong preference for growth, and a requirement that every investment offers significant upside.
Stance note: [Not stated] directional view. There are three points in the report relevant to this topic:
1. A five-year investment horizon, a preference for growth, and the aim of finding significant upside in "each stock in which we invest" (original text: "We are looking for significant upside in each stock that we invest in").
2. Stock selection is conducted by a dedicated emerging markets team through rigorous fundamental bottom-up analysis, incorporating input from discussions with the China office and Baillie Gifford's global investors.
3. The portfolio typically holds 40-80 stocks, with up to 20% of assets (measured at time of purchase) investable in unlisted companies; the report does not disclose the current actual proportion of unlisted assets.
Readers should note: the above investment stance comes from the fund's official factsheet, represents a self-promotional view from the position holder's perspective, and is not equivalent to independent research conclusions.
This section does not disclose any new positions, additions, reductions, or full exits — it is a static holdings snapshot as of 31 July 2026; the top ten holdings total 49.2%, the largest 30 holdings account for 79.0%, and total holdings are 60 stocks.
Top ten holdings (the report only lists weightings, without commentary or a stated direction for any individual holding):
| Holding | % of Total Assets |
|---|---|
| ByteDance Ltd.（字节跳动） | 14.1 |
| Tencent（腾讯） | 9.8 |
| Alibaba（阿里巴巴） | 5.6 |
| CATL（宁德时代） | 3.9 |
| Ping An Insurance（平安保险） | 3.2 |
| Inspire | 2.6 |
| China Construction Bank（建设银行） | 2.6 |
| Kweichow Moutai（贵州茅台） | 2.6 |
| China Merchants Bank（招商银行） | 2.5 |
| PDD Holdings（拼多多） | 2.5 |
| Total | 49.2 |
Sector allocation: Communication Services 25.9%, Consumer Discretionary 21.6%, and Information Technology 15.6% are the top three sectors, together accounting for 63.1%; followed by Industrials 11.1%, Financials 8.3%, Materials 6.7%, Consumer Staples 3.1%, Energy 2.5%, Utilities 2.0%, Healthcare 1.9%, and net current assets 1.2%. Capital is clearly concentrated toward consumer and technology growth areas, but the report does not disclose changes in capital flows at the sector level for the month.
Positioning clues: active share 64% (limited overlap with the benchmark), annual turnover 26% (low-frequency turnover, consistent with a long-term holding style), gross gearing 4%, net gearing 3% (a modest amount of borrowing, no aggressive leverage observed), and net current assets 1.2%.
The fund has total assets of £192.68m and total borrowings of £7.87m. The share price trades at a 9.8% discount to NAV, and the management fee rate decreases as scale increases.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £192.68m |
| Total borrowings | £7.87m |
| Ongoing charges | 1.06% (AIC basis, disclosed in latest annual report) |
| Dividend yield | 0.8% |
| NAV per share | 339.19p |
| Share price | 306.00p |
| Share price discount to NAV | 9.8% |
| Gross gearing | 4% |
| Net gearing | 3% |
| Active share | 64% |
| Annual turnover | 26% |
| Fund managers | Linda Lin (Partner), Sophie Earnshaw |
| Morningstar rating | Assigned (as of 30 June 2026) |
Gearing definitions (AIC basis): Gross gearing = face value of borrowings / shareholders' funds; net gearing = (face value of borrowings less cash and cash equivalents) / shareholders' funds. Manager's annual fee structure: (i) 0.75% on the first £50m of NAV; (ii) 0.65% on the portion from £50m to £250m; (iii) 0.55% on the portion above £250m, calculated and paid quarterly. The benchmark was changed from MSCI AC Asia ex Pacific to MSCI China All Shares on 16 September 2020.