This factsheet covers a UK investment trust run by Baillie Gifford, a well-known fund manager. Over the past year its net asset value rose 9.7%, while the UK stock market as a whole returned 21.9%. It also lagged over three, five, and ten years. Why? The trust concentrates on 35 to 65 companies it likes, ignores the index, and borrows money to invest, so results swing more. For ordinary investors, the lesson is that even a famous manager can underperform a simple index fund for a decade; the trust's shares also trade below its asset value. Worth a read as a reminder to check long-term results, not marketing.
As of 30 June 2026, the fund's NAV rolling one-year return was 9.7%, trailing the FTSE All-Share Index (21.9%) by 12.2pp; the three-, five-, and ten-year returns also lagged the benchmark across the board.
| Metric | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund NAV | 9.7% | 30.2% | 10.8% | 67.1% |
| Share price | 9.8% | 40.3% | 1.2% | 80.4% |
| Benchmark (FTSE All-Share, total return) | 21.9% | 53.1% | 67.9% | 129.8% |
| NAV excess | -12.2pp | -22.9pp | -57.1pp | -62.7pp |
Discrete annual performance (for years ended 30 June):
| Financial year | NAV | Share price | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | -25.2% | -35.1% | 1.6% |
| 2022-23 | 13.8% | 11.1% | 7.9% |
| 2023-24 | 6.1% | 6.6% | 13.0% |
| 2024-25 | 11.8% | 19.8% | 11.2% |
| 2025-26 | 9.7% | 9.8% | 21.9% |
Of the five financial years, only 2024-25 beat the benchmark (11.8% vs 11.2%); the fund lagged in the other four. In 2021-22, the NAV fell 25.2% while the benchmark rose 1.6%. The report does not disclose position-level contribution/detraction attribution.
This report is a static portfolio overview and does not disclose any monthly buy/sell activity; the following is the top ten holdings and sector distribution as of 30 June 2026.
The top ten holdings together account for 46.4% of total assets:
| Rank | Company | % of assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Games Workshop | 7.8% |
| 2 | AJ Bell | 5.4% |
| 3 | Volution Group | 4.6% |
| 4 | Softcat | 4.5% |
| 5 | Wise | 4.1% |
| 6 | Howden Joinery | 4.1% |
| 7 | 4imprint | 4.1% |
| 8 | Renishaw | 4.0% |
| 9 | Legal & General | 4.0% |
| 10 | Moonpig Group | 3.7% |
Sector exposure spans 22 sectors, with the top three being Investment Banking and Brokerage Services, Software and Computer Services, and Retailers, followed by Industrial Support Services, Leisure Goods, Life Insurance, Electronic and Electrical Equipment, Construction and Materials, Industrial Engineering, among others (the report does not provide weight values for individual sectors).
Portfolio concentration and turnover: 35-65 holdings; active share 92% (only 8% overlap with the index); annual turnover 5%, extremely low turnover. Gross leverage 10%, net leverage 9% (borrowings £24.35m). The combination of concentrated holdings, low turnover, and leverage implies greater volatility relative to the benchmark.
The fund managers operate on a five-year horizon, employ index-agnostic stock selection, and explicitly state that yield is secondary; as of end-June, NAV was 234.80p and the share price 212.00p, a 9.7% discount to NAV.
The above investment framework is the fund managers' positive statement of their own strategy; the reader should note that this is the perspective of the position-holder. The report offers no independent validation of strategy effectiveness, and the performance of significant underperformance versus the benchmark over many years is mutually consistent with the strategy's own statement that “volatility against the benchmark is inevitable.”