Baillie Gifford US Growth trust: 'We are dissatisfied with our five-year performance'
Kirsty Gibson (pictured) manages the Baillie Gifford US Growth trust alongside Gary Robinson.
Since launching in March 2018, the trust's share price and NAV total return is up 44.1% and 90.4% respectively, compared to a total return of 102% for the S&P 500 index, the trust revealed today (10 August) in its results for the year ended 31 May.
«We asked you to judge us over the long term, and as shareholders and managers of the Baillie Gifford US Growth trust, we are dissatisfied with our five-year performance,» managers Gary Robinson and Kirsty Gibson said. «These are not the numbers we looked to deliver at the company's fifth anniversary.»
At IPO in March 2018, Baillie Gifford US Growth raised £173m. It now holds £616m in assets, a considerable drop from a recent peak of over £1.1bn, driven by the growth sell-off and weak sentiment towards private assets.
Baillie Gifford US Growth trust doubles down on strategy
Despite the underperformance, the managers are asking investors to be patient, noting that the «worst thing» they could do at present is go against the investment philosophy and «try and ‘fix' performance», focusing on the short term at the expense of the long term.
«Performance has been poor, and we are disappointed. No one sets out to underperform. Even if we know periods of underperformance are inevitable for a long-term growth investor, it does not make it easier,» they said.
«However, given the opportunities in front of the companies the company invests in, we cannot panic and pro-cyclically turn defensive. We have underwritten the investment cases for the companies held in the portfolio and are excited about their long-term potential.»
In the year to the end of May, the trust's net asset value total
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