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.

28 pieces · 2026–2026 · updated every Monday

Recent updates

10-14Monks · Baillie Gifford Monks Investment Trust Factsheet→

Family funds

2026

10-19Edinburgh Worldwide enlightenment: becoming architects of biologyThis report says biotechnology is moving from 'observing' to 'reading, understanding, and engineering' life, and the author is optimistic. As we learn to actively write and edit life's instructions, companies providing key tools will become more valuable. Three holdings are highlighted: Oxford Nanopore (its real-time DNA sequencing can analyze brain tumor genes during surgery in two hours instead of weeks); Guardant Health (its liquid biopsy has…→10-19China’s innovation hidden in plain sightThis report says China's innovation in green tech, advanced manufacturing, and AI is hidden by macro headlines, and investment opportunities remain strong. Manager Linda Lin compares judging China by macro alone to 'judging a restaurant from the weather outside.' Key holdings: BYD (BYD) – Seagull model costs ~£8,000, flash charging adds 400 km in 5 minutes; CATL – supplied nearly 40% of global EV batteries in 2025, installed in over 24 million ca…→10-18Monks’ musings: harnessing growth, but not hostage to AIThis is about how Monks Investment Trust views the AI boom. The fund says four big tech firms (Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta) may spend $1 trillion on AI infrastructure next year, but it refuses to bet only on AI. Instead, it invests in winners of the next five years and adds banks, energy, and software for balance. Key holdings: Amazon (cloud revenue up 43%), NVIDIA (core AI bet), and Disco (newly added semiconductor equipment maker, dominan…→10-12Monthly Income: is your portfolio as diversified as you think?This piece argues that a portfolio can hold many assets but still be exposed to the same economic risks—like relying on US tech stocks. Baillie Gifford believes true diversification means investing in assets driven by different economic forces. They are optimistic about emerging-market local-currency bonds, which offer high yields and low correlation with stocks and property. Key holdings: Brazil inflation-linked bonds (real yield ~7%, providing…→10-08Lam and Alnylam: time well spentThis piece says two companies—Alnylam and Lam Research—have built hard-to-copy advantages through decades of accumulated expertise. The author (Baillie Gifford fund) is optimistic, believing the market underestimates their long-term potential. Alnylam, a gene-silencing drugmaker, has a clinical success rate over 50% (industry average 10%) and is investing $250 million to expand capacity, aiming to treat hypertension (1.4 billion patients). Lam Re…→10-01Chinese innovation: what we saw on the groundThis report says China is shifting from an old model driven by real estate and investment to a new one focused on advanced manufacturing and tech self-reliance. The two models coexist, creating market divergence. The author is cautious, warning that hot sectors like EVs and robots may face overcapacity. Key holdings: BYD (management meets daily to respond to customer feedback, but EV competition is fierce), Xiaomi (took only three years from anno…→09-30Great global growth: private investor forumThis piece explains how Baillie Gifford's two strategies, Monks and SAINTS, find undervalued opportunities. They see the market reshaped by passive investing and the AI boom, but believe many good companies are mispriced. Monks likes NVIDIA (new chips every 18 months, stronger than market thinks), Samsara, and Shopify (seen as AI losers but have real advantages). SAINTS prefers cash-generating firms like Coca-Cola that pay steady dividends. Overa…→09-24Beyond consensus: what is active management for?This piece argues that active investing isn't about having more information, but about forming a genuinely different view of the future. Markets focus on surface events and short-term data, but the real edge lies in understanding the underlying system structure. The author uses BlackBerry as a cautionary tale: analysts thought the market was saturated because they defined it too narrowly (Wall Street workers needing mobile email), but the real de…→09-14Edinburgh Worldwide enlightenment: writing the physical layer of AI biologyThis report says AI can design protein drugs in seconds, but they still need to be physically built and tested. Twist Bioscience's DNA synthesis platform is like the factory for that, making it key infrastructure for AI-driven drug discovery. The author is bullish on Twist, arguing AI will create more demand for physical testing, not less. Key holdings: Twist Bioscience (AI-related orders jumped from near zero to ~$25 million in 2025, expected to…→09-11Moderna: the next actThis article is about Baillie Gifford's take on Moderna. They admit being too optimistic during COVID, once dreaming Moderna would be a trillion-dollar company, but the stock crashed 95% from its peak. Now they're cautiously optimistic: in August 2026, Moderna's personalized cancer treatment (Intismeran) succeeded in a skin cancer trial, proving the mRNA platform works beyond vaccines. They sold half their Moderna stake (reducing position) the ne…→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…→