Portfolio manager addition to Baillie Gifford Global Alpha fund

July 03, 2025

Plan sponsors may wish to consider whether this investment news has any implications for the investment options available within their plans. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada purchases units of the fund listed below, which is established as a segregated fund in accordance with the Insurance Companies Act (Canada). 

This is an informational update only and you don’t need to take any action as a result of this news.

Baillie Gifford announced that Michael Taylor would be joining the Global Alpha strategy team on March 31, 2025, expanding the number of decision makers from three to four. Taylor had worked at Baillie Gifford from 2009 to 2014 and rejoined the firm in 2022 to lead the U.S. Alpha strategy. Taylor will continue to be a Portfolio Manager (PM) on U.S. Alpha and will leverage his U.S. equities knowledge to support Global Alpha. In 2024, in anticipation of the new role. Taylor served as an advisor to the Global Alpha strategy, focusing on bringing ideas and perspectives from the firm’s U.S. equity desk. Taylor and the three current PMs – Malcolm MacColl, Spencer Adair and Helen Xiong – will make decisions together, with agreement of at least two PMs required to add a new stock to the portfolio.

GRS Investment Solutions team view

We are comfortable with the appointment of Taylor, considering that the move was planned well in advance. Taylor has over eight years experience at Baillie Gifford and extensive experience in investment management. 

A note on performance

We note that for the annualized five-year period ending March 31, 2025, the Baillie Gifford Global Alpha fund underperformed its MSCI All Country World Index benchmark by 4.0%. Over the last ten-year period ending March 31, 2025, Baillie Gifford Global Alpha has essentially matched the benchmark of 10.2% (annualized). The fund is benchmark-agnostic and will have high active risk, leading to potentially significant swings in performance from year to year. This is a Growth strategy that holds about 70–120 stocks, which Baillie Gifford believes offer above average profit growth over the long term. We continue to monitor the fund’s performance relative to its stated style.

Questions?

Please contact your Sun Life Group Retirement Services representative*.

*In Quebec, registered as a Group annuity plans advisor.