Elsewhere, the group’s £574m Bailie Gifford Japan investment trust has attributed its slight underperformance in the six months to February 2017 to tough conditions for its growth stock holdings compared to cyclical shares.
The trust, which rose by a market-beating 205% in the past five years, gained 13.3% in the period compared to a TOPIX benchmark gain of 13.6%, with stocks that “disappointed” including e-commerce giant Rakuten and online medical portal M3.
Performance in the six months was supported by the trust’s gearing, where money is borrowed to increase the size of the investment portfolio, broadening its exposure to the rising market environment.
The trust’s manager Sarah Whitley has added two shares to the portfolio recently, including mind-controlled exoskeleton robot developer Cyberdyne, which develops products to aid spinal injury and stroke sufferers.
