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Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust - ‘Blue sky’ thinkers seeking exceptional returns

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) aims to deliver long-term capital growth by identifying exceptional US businesses that have the potential to grow substantially faster than the market. Specifically, managers Gary Robinson and Kirsty Gibson target returns of 2.5x on investments over five years. They believe that such stocks are most likely to be found at the cutting edge of technology-led change, in areas such as machine learning, robotics and genetic sequencing. The managers invest in publicly listed and private companies (with holdings comprising 83.5% and 16.5% of the portfolio, respectively), to maximise access to the best ideas, regardless of ownership structure. The rapid technological advances seen during the pandemic boosted many of USA’s existing holdings and gave the managers the opportunity to add new companies with strong growth potential. In the financial year ended 31 May 2021, the trust returned 62.8% in NAV terms, dramatically outperforming the benchmark return of 22.4%.