Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust is set to be booted from the FTSE 250 later this month, following a torrid period for performance in which it has lost close to 50%.
The £594.1m trust, managed by Gary Robinson and Kirsty Gibson (pictured), has been kicked to the kerb in the FTSE Russell’s latest quarterly reshuffle, alongside six other companies, including Rank Group, Trustpilot and PureTech Health.
Three investment trusts have been promoted to the ranks of FTSE 250 companies – Supermarket Income Reit, Target Healthcare Reit and the £773.9m Merchants trust, managed by Allianz Global Investors.
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust on higher losses than Scottish Mortgage
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust ascended to the FTSE 250 in September 2020, two and half years after debuting on the London Stock Exchange, as its punchy positions in disruptors like Tesla, Shopify and Amazon saw their share prices take off amid the coronavirus crisis.
However, its share price has come crashing back to earth as many of these same pandemic winners have been brutally punished in this year’s tech sell-off.
All of Baillie Gifford’s investment trusts, which follow the Edinburgh manager’s growth house style, are loss-making year-to-date. But Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust has slumped furthest, losing close to 47%.
Biggest loss-making Baillie Gifford investment trusts ytd
| Investment trust | Total return (%) |
| Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust | -46.88 |
| The Schiehallion fund | -44.33 |
| Scottish Mortgage | -38.85 |
| Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust | -37.37 |
| Baillie Gifford European Worldwide Investment Trust | -36.89 |
Source: FE Fundinfo
Its shares are currently trading at 166p, a 57% decline from their peak price of 388p in February 2021. This is a 14.5% discount to its net asset value, according to the Association of Investment Companies.
See also: Baillie Gifford US Growth trust taps into crypto craze
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust’s ejection leaves the Edinburgh manager with just four trusts in the FTSE 250 – Baillie Gifford Japan Trust, Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, Monks Investment Trust and Scottish American Investment Company.
Shin Nippon, its Japanese smaller companies trust, was culled from the FTSE 250 in the first quarter.
Scottish Mortgage, Baillie Gifford’s largest trust with £12.4bn in assets, remains in the FTSE 100, despite seeing 37% wiped off its share price so far this year.
The changes from the FTSE’s quarterly review will be implemented at the close of business on 17 June and take effect from the start of trading on 20 June.
See also: Can Baillie Gifford endure a long-term value rally?
