Baillie Gifford has promoted Josie Bentley to co-manager on its £2.3bn European fund after a bumper 2020 for the growth strategy.
Baillie Gifford European was second only to the L&G European Trust for performance in 2020 returning investors 43.2%, according to FE Analytics. The £154m L&G fund returned 46.7%. The average sector return was 10.1%.
The fund, which targets growth companies and is benchmarked against the MSCI Europe ex UK index, also enjoyed strong flows. It tripled in size during 2020 from £708.9m at the start of the year following £1.2bn of net inflows to the end of November, according to Morningstar data.
In June, it recorded its highest ever monthly inflow bringing in £228m. That month it also topped the charts for the largest net inflows into any UK-domiciled fund.
Bentley (pictured) joins existing managers Stephen Paice, Moritz Sitte and Chris Davies on the fund. Since joining Baillie Gifford in 2016 she has worked across strategies including international growth, UK equity and high yield bond. She joined the European desk in 2019.
Baillie Gifford head of retail marketing and distribution James Budden said: “Josie has quickly established herself as part of the European equities team and has contributed significantly to idea generation.
“Currently top of its sector over the past year and with a similar long-term track record, the fund has proved very popular, and Josie’s appointment will both diversify the management team and enhance its investment proposition.”
Bentley graduated from Oxford in 2014 with an MA in music.
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