Baillie Gifford Japanese
One of the oldest Japan funds in the sector, Baillie Gifford Japanese Fund has delivered outstanding returns in the most difficult market conditions. The fund is managed by a large team, based in Edinburgh, and invests in growing Japanese businesses that deliver consistently strong returns to shareholders.
Our Opinion
Fund Managers
Expand
Fund Managers
Close
Matthew Brett, Lead Manager Matthew is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team at Baillie Gifford, where he has worked since 2003 and became a partner in 2018. He manages the Japanese Fund and related All Cap Strategy segregated accounts, the Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, and co-manages the Japanese Income Growth Fund. Matthew graduated with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Psychology) from the University of Cambridge in 2000 and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Bristol.
Jared Anderson, Fund manager Jared is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team. He is co-manager of the Japanese All Cap Strategy and joined Baillie Gifford in 2016. Prior to joining the team, he worked in the Global Alpha, UK Equities and Fixed Income teams. Before he joined Baillie Gifford he spent two years as an Assistant Economist at the Scottish Government. Jared graduated MA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Edinburgh in 2012.
Matthew Brett, Lead Manager Matthew is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team at Baillie Gifford, where he has worked since 2003 and became a partner in 2018. He manages the Japanese Fund and related All Cap Strategy segregated accounts, the Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, and co-manages the Japanese Income Growth Fund. Matthew graduated with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Psychology) from the University of Cambridge in 2000 and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Bristol.
Read More
Jared Anderson, Fund manager Jared is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team. He is co-manager of the Japanese All Cap Strategy and joined Baillie Gifford in 2016. Prior to joining the team, he worked in the Global Alpha, UK Equities and Fixed Income teams. Before he joined Baillie Gifford he spent two years as an Assistant Economist at the Scottish Government. Jared graduated MA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Edinburgh in 2012.
Read More
Risk
Read more
Back
Company Description
Read more
Back
Fund Performance
Close
Risk
Close
Company Description
Close
Talking Factsheet
Quote from the Fund Manager
We are growth-orientated, stock-picking managers.
Matthew Brett
Lead Manager
Investment process
Baillie Gifford Japanese fund seeks to invest in well-managed businesses with a strong competitive advantage that are not overpriced. The research process is designed to ensure the best ideas of each individual team member are included in the portfolio. It is built around five specific factors: a company’s competitive advantage, industry, financial strength, how well it is run and its valuation. These are discussed amongst the team with Matthew having the final say on what is added to the portfolio. Being growth investors, the team have a natural bias towards medium-sized companies.
Risk
Investing in Japan can be volatile, although its stock market movements are often less correlated to developed equity markets, so can act as a diversifier. The emphasis on structural change within the portfolio should benefit from the government’s current economic strategy. The process seeks out growth-orientated companies, which can underperform should this style of investing fall out of favour.
ESG
ESG - Limited
With this fund, Matthew takes a long-term approach, looking for growth opportunities with firms that are likely to be future leaders. He believes that this long-term approach incorporates a natural bias towards sustainable business models, however this is not a formal policy of the philosophy or process. Material ESG issues that are identified in the analysis will be considered as possible reasons to not invest, but this will be on a case-by-case basis, rather than a systematic approach. There is a strong focus on governance though, with Matthew and the team having regular engagement with the management of companies already held in the fund and those of prospective holdings.
The information, data, analyses, and opinions contained herein (1) include the proprietary information of FundCalibre, (2) may not be copied or redistributed without prior permission, (3) do not constitute investment advice offered by FundCalibre, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes and therefore are not an offer to buy or sell a fund, and (5) are not warranted to be correct, complete, or accurate. FundCalibre shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from, or related to, this information, data, analyses, or opinions or their use. The Elite Fund rating is subjective in nature and reflects FundCalibre’s current expectations of future events/behaviour as they relate to a particular fund. Because such events/behaviour may turn out to be different than expected, FundCalibre does not guarantee that a fund will perform in line with its FundCalibre benchmark. Likewise, the Elite Fund rating should not be seen as any sort of guarantee or assessment of the creditworthiness of a fund nor of its underlying securities and should not be used as the sole basis for making any investment decision. FundCalibre disclaims any responsibility for trading decisions, damages or other losses resulting from any use of the Elite Fund rating. All performance data, as well as fund size, OCF, AMC, annual income (historic), share price discount or premium, is sourced directly from FE Analytics, and will change periodically.