Baillie Gifford champions value for money by cutting fees on 20 funds

5 September 2017 - Baillie Gifford plans to cut investment management fees across 20 equity funds.

Effective from 1 October 2017, the reduction in annual management fees is part of a drive by the company to offer active management to investors at an attractive price, where fund scale and ongoing costs allow.

Andrew Telfer, joint senior partner at Baillie Gifford, said: “Sharing economies of scale with investors as funds grow is one way in which Baillie Gifford looks to deliver ongoing value for clients. Meeting all research costs internally is another. We believe that keeping costs low, maintaining high active share, low turnover and engaging with the management of companies in which we invest are key ingredients of a successful active manager.”

Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea added: "Any cuts in fund fees for active funds must be applauded, and when these cuts are on funds with excellent performance, even more so. It's not just a marketing gimmick to attract more money, it is genuinely in the interest of investors.

"Baillie Gifford Japanese is a stand-out fund for us. Nevertheless, the company has been in a real sweet spot recently across the whole of its equity franchise. Baillie Gifford Emerging Markets Growth was the number one* fund in its sector last year and the Emerging Market Leading Companies fund was number two*. Baillie Gifford Global Alpha was top decile* in its sector last year, as was Baillie Gifford Global Select. We are seeing reductions in funds with excellent track records.”

*Source: Morningstar as at 25 August 2017