The managers of Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA), Gary Robinson and Kirsty Gibson, invest in exceptional US businesses with the potential to grow substantially faster than the market and deliver above market returns. Such businesses tend to operate at the cutting edge of technology-led change, and USA has exposure to companies focused on AI, space travel and online services. The company’s performance was very good in outright and relative terms in the years following its launch in 2018 (see following chart), and recent returns have remained strongly positive in absolute terms, although the company’s unlisted holdings have been a drag on relative returns due to the adverse impact of higher interest rates on valuations. However, many of USA’s holdings have been doing ‘exceptionally well’ on an operational basis, and the managers are excited about the future. They believe AI is driving some of the biggest technological developments of the century, and they expect this tech revolution to accelerate and spread across the economy. They expect this to generate ‘huge structural opportunities’ for the innovative and adaptable businesses they target to realise outsized returns.
