Baillie Gifford Letters & Research Archive

Baillie Gifford is an Edinburgh investment partnership founded in 1908, famous for ultra-long-horizon, high-conviction growth investing — its early stakes in Amazon, Tesla and NIO are classics. Its "actual investors" philosophy holds world-changing companies on 5-10 year views; AUM is around $120bn. The Insights column carries its managers' investment views and thematic research.

18 pieces · 2026–2026 · updated every Monday

Recent updates

09-10China Fund · Baillie Gifford China Fund Factsheet→09-10Emerging Markets Growth Fund · Baillie Gifford Emerging Markets Growth Fund Factsheet→09-10Global Discovery Fund · Baillie Gifford Global Discovery Fund Factsheet→09-10Global Income Growth Fund · Baillie Gifford Global Income Growth Fund Factsheet→09-10Japanese Core Growth Fund · Baillie Gifford Japanese Core Growth Fund Factsheet→09-10Japanese Fund · Baillie Gifford Japanese Fund Factsheet→09-10Japanese Smaller Companies Fund · Baillie Gifford Japanese Smaller Companies Fund Factsheet→09-09American Fund · Baillie Gifford American Fund Factsheet→

Family funds

2026

09-10The trolley problem: protecting retirement income from inflationThis article says the era of low inflation is over, and retirement income needs protection. The author sees supply shocks (energy, supply chains, aging) making inflation higher and less predictable. Traditional fixed annuities, cash, and regular bonds lose purchasing power. Two key holdings: Supermarket Income REIT (rents rise with UK inflation, dividend yield over 7%) and Brazilian government inflation-linked bonds (real yield of 7%, among the h…→09-07Emerging markets: enough is not enoughThis report argues investors underweight emerging markets (EM) and should treat them as a core holding, not an afterthought. Baillie Gifford says EM makes up 60% of global GDP and two-thirds of growth, yet only 12% of the MSCI ACWI index. They note that investors' combined stake in Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft nearly equals their entire EM exposure. The firm is optimistic about fiscally sound EM economies like China, Taiwan, and South Korea, and…→09-02Material mattersThis report says global supply chains are fragile, making resource scarcity a key investment theme. The fund (Baillie Gifford) is optimistic, betting on energy and materials. It highlights three holdings: Epiroc (mining equipment, like selling shovels in a gold rush), Martin Marietta (crushed stone, with a local monopoly due to high transport costs), and Freeport-McMoRan (copper mining, benefiting from surging demand for EVs and AI).→08-31UK Growth Trust: strengthening the team, broadening our reachThis article is about the UK Growth Trust adding seven new stocks after appointing a new co-manager. The fund is optimistic that many UK growth companies have strong fundamentals but are undervalued by the market. Three key holdings: Marks & Spencer is turning around with better food and fashion sales; Croda, a specialty chemicals firm, is recovering from a destocking cycle; and Cranswick is investing in a new chicken plant to boost production an…→08-28Food system efficiency: investing for positive changeThis report says global food demand will rise over 50% by 2050, but fertilizer supply is fragile (a third of seaborne fertilizer passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a geopolitical chokepoint). The author (Baillie Gifford fund) is optimistic about two companies: Deere uses precision farming tech like See & Spray, which cuts herbicide use by up to 50%, and ExactShot, which cuts fertilizer use by up to 60%; its engaged acres grew from 315 million t…→08-21Beyond the primesThis article says to avoid big defense contractors because they're like regulated utilities with limited profits. Baillie Gifford prefers niche suppliers with pricing power. They highlight three holdings: AeroVironment (makes loitering munitions proven in Ukraine, cheap and effective), RBC Bearings (makes precision parts with sticky customers, ~70% revenue from sole or primary supply), and Axon Enterprise (sells police gear, bought again after it…→08-21How we assess dual-class share structuresThis piece explains how Baillie Gifford evaluates dual-class share structures (where founders have more voting power per share). They say the structure itself isn't good or bad—it depends on the controller's quality, the company's stage, and checks and balances. Their framework focuses on whether the controller is trustworthy and aligned with shareholders. If yes, dual-class can protect long-term strategy; if no, it risks value destruction. No sp…→08-14The market’s short memoryThis report says memory chip companies like Micron are making huge profits now (revenue $41.5B, 85% gross margin), but the author thinks it's just a temporary shortage. Once new factories come online, prices will crash—it's happened three times before. So the author doesn't own Micron and instead bought more Arm and KLA during July's chip stock dip. Arm designs chips for phones and data centers, benefiting from AI growth; KLA makes inspection equ…→08-13Edinburgh Worldwide enlightenment: has the long-term case changed?This article says the July sell-off in AI infrastructure stocks was mostly about positioning and emotion, not a change in the long-term story. AI computing demand remains strong, so the fund stays bullish. Three key holdings: Astera Labs (makes chips for connecting GPUs, revenue doubled), BESI (chip packaging equipment, revenue up 69%), and IREN (AI cloud computing, expects over $4 billion in future revenue, most already contracted). The author s…→07-24SAINTS spotlight: testing the case for resilient growthThis report from Baillie Gifford is about why they think passive index funds (like ETFs that track the market) are not neutral—they've become too concentrated in AI stocks, ignoring other growth areas like healthcare and industrial tech. Their own holdings, such as Intuit and Accenture, are growing profits but their stock prices haven't kept up, so performance has lagged. They sold T. Rowe Price due to structural pressure from passive investing a…→07-17SpaceX: why US Growth invested at the IPOSpaceX went public at an eye-popping $1.7 trillion valuation. But Baillie Gifford, a long-time private investor, still bought in. Why? They see real substance: SpaceX launches over 80% of global payloads, Starlink has over 10 million users, and Starship could slash costs by 90x. They even sold some Tesla to fund this. The lesson: even extreme valuations can make sense if you have deep knowledge and long-term conviction. This article shows how pro…→07-16Edinburgh Worldwide enlightenment: targeting cancer’s greasy ballThis article is about Revolution Medicines, a biotech firm targeting a protein called RAS, which drives many cancers (like pancreatic cancer). Unlike older drugs that only work on 'sleeping' RAS, its new drug hits 'active' RAS, covering more cancer types. In trials, patients lived over 6 months longer on average, with fewer side effects than chemo. For regular investors, this could be a huge opportunity if the drug succeeds, but it's risky: it's…→07-15Monks’ musings: winning the long raceThis article explains how the Monks fund picks stocks in the AI boom. They split the market into three groups: AI hardware, digital services, and industrial stocks. Instead of chasing every AI name, they focus on quality companies like SK Hynix (trading at under 6 times forward earnings, meaning it's cheap) and Linde. For ordinary investors, it means avoiding the hype and looking for undervalued opportunities. It's worth reading because it emphas…→07-10Medpace: easing the bottleneck in drug developmentThis article highlights Medpace, a company that runs clinical trials for drug developers—think of it as a 'picks and shovels' business in a tough industry. Drug development is getting harder and more expensive, and clinical trials are a major bottleneck. Medpace's specialized services are highly valued by small biotech firms, with over 80% repeat business. While some worry AI could replace outsourcing, the author argues AI will actually boost Med…→07-07Global Alpha Forum: the changing growth opportunity setThis report says that today's market is dominated by short-term traders and passive investing (like index funds), which can cause good companies to be unfairly sold off. For example, Datadog was dumped during an AI panic even though its revenue was fine. The author sees this as a chance for long-term investors to buy at a discount. Also, growth is shifting from software to physical resources like copper mines and pipelines. Regular investors shou…→07-03The AI paradox: from carbon cost to climate dividend?This article asks whether AI helps or hurts the climate. In the short term, AI data centers increase electricity use and emissions. But over time, AI can make power grids and factories more efficient, saving more emissions than it adds. The catch? AI can also help oil and gas companies produce more efficiently, keeping dirty assets alive longer. And if efficiency lowers energy costs, people may just use more power. For investors, this means look…→07-02Stock markets: ecology and evolutionMore people are buying stocks based on indexes or hot trends, which can push good companies' prices away from what they're really worth. That creates opportunities for those who study businesses carefully, but the ride will be bumpy. The article also shows how one fund added banks and energy stocks to smooth out returns, making it easier for investors to stay patient. For ordinary investors, the key is not to avoid ups and downs, but to make sure…→06-30Rebuilding confidence in UK growthThis report argues that some quality UK companies are undervalued because investors have piled into a few big stocks like banks and defense firms. Firms like Moonpig (a digital greeting card platform with 70% UK market share) and Spirax Sarco (an industrial engineer with a hard-to-replicate sales force) have strong earnings but cheap prices. For ordinary investors, it suggests looking beyond the hype at medium-sized UK growth stocks that the mark…→