Have you ever wondered what it would be like to manage an investment portfolio worth hundreds of billions of pounds? Global equities specialist Malcolm MacColl is one of two managing partners at the helm of Baillie Gifford, the Scottish asset management company, which manages more than £350bn worth of investors’ cash. An early investor in Amazon, Tesla and Moderna, Baillie Gifford’s long-term approach to investing in tech companies has paid dividends. However, its approach is being tested by volatile markets in China, where the value of Chinese tech companies has been hit by a government crackdown. 

On today’s episode, Malcolm reveals how Baillie Gifford’s fund management team build an “investment hypothesis” for each company they choose to back, and why every investor should build a “coffee can portfolio” of shares they’d like to hold for 20 years. We also hear from FT investment columnist Merryn Somerset Webb who is less upbeat about China’s long-term prospects.

Further reading:

To listen to Merryn’s own Investment Masterclass, click here 

Read the FT’s profile on Baillie Gifford here 

Follow Claer on Instagram and Twitter @ClaerB and send her a DM if you’d like to appear as a future guest, or email the team on [email protected] 

The podcasts Malcolm mentioned are:

Farnam Street 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-knowledge-project-with-shane-parrish/id990149481

Coburn Ventures 

https://open.spotify.com/show/3aKPYkLblhxAAPMj3BCgR6?si=QmAPgFCUSVWA5ENKXETuJA

Patrick O’Shaughnessy

https://open.spotify.com/show/22fi0RqfoBACCuQDv97wFO?si=QjYqX5dVRLC2K6e2uf8zyA

Presented by Claer Barrett. Produced and edited by Clare Williamson and Persis Love. Sound design by Breen Turner.

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