Baillie Gifford beefs up high yield bond fund team

Baillie Gifford HQ in Edinburgh

Edinburgh-based investment group Baillie Gifford has appointed Arthur Milson as a co-manager of its £631 million Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond Fund.

Milson joins existing managers Robert Baltzer and Lucy Isles on the fund with immediate effect.

Milson joined Baillie Gifford in 2022 as an investment manager in the credit team.

Prior to joining Baillie Gifford, Milson spent 16 years managing high yield funds at Abrdn.

The Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond Fund aims to produce a combination of income and capital growth by investing in high yield bonds.

It adopts an “unconstrained, best ideas approach, aiming to outperform the Investment Association Sterling High Yield sector average.”

Lesley Dunn, Head of Credit at Baillie Gifford, said: “Arthur joins us at an exciting time for the high yield market, with the asset class providing close to double-digit yields.

“Arthur is attracted to the focus we place on bond selection in our credit strategies and the opportunities that our long-term approach affords.

“Higher financing costs and the prospect of a recession this year mean in-depth credit research has never been more valuable for high yield clients.

“We are extremely excited to add such an experienced hire to the Baillie Gifford Credit Team.”

Baillie Gifford saw its assets under management and advice fall from roughly £360 billion at the end of 2021 to around £210 million in late 2022.

A number of high flying funds and investment trusts managed by Baillie Gifford came back down to earth with a bang amid the the global rout in growth stocks.

The firm told investors last year the experience “has been both staggering and sobering” and has been a “humbling experience for managers such as Baillie Gifford.”

Milson graduated BSc Biological Sciences from The University of Edinburgh in 1992, and has a postgraduate diploma in Commerce from The University of Wollongong.

Baillie Gifford has offices in Edinburgh (HQ), Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Krakow, London, New York, Shanghai, Toronto and Zurich.