Edinburgh-based investment giant Baillie Gifford said it has launched a UK open-ended investment company (OEIC) version of its successful Dublin-registered Health Innovation fund “to invest in a new generation of companies tackling the world’s big health challenges.”
The new vehicle will be called the UK OEIC Health Innovation Fund. The Dublin fund performance has been 87.4% since inception.
“The new OEIC will sit alongside the Dublin-registered UCITS fund which was made available to external investors in April this year, having launched 01 October 2018 with an initial investment from Baillie Gifford partners,” said the Edinburgh asset manager which oversees £287 billion of assets.
“Total assets under management for the Baillie Gifford Health Innovation UCITS fund are currently $113m plus an additional $206m in segregated mandates (at 16/12/20).
“Both funds are managed by a team of three: Julia Angeles, Rose Nguyen and Marina Record plus an advisory group of five other investment managers.
“Performance will be measured over five years or more, however since inception, the UCITS fund performance has been 87.4% gross of fees (in USD) versus 23.9% for MSCI All Countries World Index.
“The portfolio has around 35 listed mid-size high-growth companies, which are driving transformational changes in the future of healthcare with pioneering therapies, diagnostics and digital technology.
“Baillie Gifford already invests £29bn in health-related companies across several funds, believing that society is on the cusp of a revolution in our understanding of human biology and approach to health.”
Baillie Gifford director of marketing and distribution James Budden said: “With increasing convergence within the fields of science and technology, medicine is likely to be further revolutionised towards prevention and cure in order to help us live healthier and longer lives.
“As patient investors, we are keen to help companies build sustainable business models for the breakthroughs they are working on.
“For the moment, we are focused on building up a track record for the Baillie Gifford Health Innovation Fund and developing awareness of the OEIC within the UK marketplace.”