1. Overview

    The Baillie Gifford Japan Trust aims to pursue long-term capital growth principally through investment in medium to smaller sized Japanese companies, which are believed to have above average prospects for growth.

    The Trust is the longest established existing Japanese investment trust, having survived the ebb and flow of corporate activity in the Japanese sector over the last 30 years.

    Performance & Portfolio

    Periodic Performance

    All figures to 28/02/2025

    1 Year

    3 Years

    5 Years

    10 Years

    Share Price 4.8%-3.8%19.5%90.8%
    NAV 3.5%3.7%23.3%111.9%
    Benchmark* 2.4%24.8%45.4%115.5%

    Discrete Performance

    Annual Performance to 31 December each year

    31/12/2019
    31/12/2020

    31/12/2020
    31/12/2021

    31/12/2021
    31/12/2022

    31/12/2022
    31/12/2023

    31/12/2023
    31/12/2024

    Share Price 35.3%-10.4%-21.7%-5.6%1.9%
    NAV 21.3%-3.1%-14.9%-0.7%6.5%
    Benchmark* 9.6%2.0%-4.1%13.3%10.0%

    Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.

    NAV is calculated with borrowings deducted at fair value for 1, 3 and 5 years and par value for 10 years.

    *TOPIX.

    Performance source: Morningstar and relevant underlying index provider(s), total return in sterling.

     

    Performance 28/02/2025
    Created with Highstock 4.2.2Zoom5 Years3 Years1 YearShare PriceNav at FairTOPIXJul 2020Jan 2021Jul 2021Jan 2022Jul 2022Jan 2023Jul 2023Jan 2024Jul 2024Jan 20252020202120222023202480.0100.0120.0140.0160.0180.0

    Performance figures appear in GBP. Please bear in mind that past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you invested.

    Comparative Index is limited to a 5 year period from the current date.

    The graph is rebased to 100.

     

    Holdings - 28/02/2025

    Fund %
    1 SoftBank Group 6.4%
    2 Rakuten 5.2%
    3 Sumitomo Mitsui Trust 4.6%
    4 SBI Holdings 4.5%
    5 Sony 4.0%
    6 GMO Internet 3.3%
    7 CyberAgent 3.0%
    8 FANUC 2.8%
    9 Calbee 2.7%
    10 Nintendo 2.4%
    Total 39.0%
    Active Share 28/02/2025
    Created with Highstock 4.2.2Zoom5 Years3 Years1 YearActive ShareJul 2020Jan 2021Jul 2021Jan 2022Jul 2022Jan 2023Jul 2023Jan 2024Jul 2024Jan 2025202020212022202320240%20%40%60%80%100%

    Relative to TOPIX. Source: Baillie Gifford & Co, Tokyo Stock Exchange.

    Sector analysis of total assets 28/02/2025
    Created with Highcharts 4.2.212345678

    Fund %

    • 1 Info, Comm and Utilities 17.85
    • 2 Commerce & Services 17.53
    • 3 Manufacturing & Machinery 14.96
    • 4 Electricals & Electronics 13.79
    • 5 Financials 10.01
    • 6 Chemicals & Other Materials 9.74
    • 7 Pharmaceuticals & Foods 6.08
    • 8 Retail 5.49
    • 9 Real Estate & Construction 2.21
    • 10 Communication Services 0.85
    • 11 Consumer Staples 0.73
    • 12 Net Liquid Assets 0.78
    • Total 100.00

    As the Fund invests in overseas securities, changes in the rates of exchange may also cause the value of your investment (and any income it may pay) to go down or up.

    The information contained on this page is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon when making investment decisions. All holdings information is unaudited. Source Baillie Gifford & Co.

    Please note that totals may not sum due to rounding.

    Meet the Managers

    Matthew Brett

    Matthew is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team. He is co-manager of the Japan All Cap Strategy, the Japanese Income Growth Strategy and manager of the Baillie Gifford Japan Trust. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2003 and became a partner of the firm in 2018. Matthew graduated BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (Psychology) from the University of Cambridge in 2000 and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Bristol.

    Praveen Kumar

    Praveen is an investment manager in the Japanese Equities Team. He is the manager of the Japanese Smaller Companies Strategy, the Shin Nippon Investment Trust, and deputy manager of the Baillie Gifford Japan Trust. He is also a founding member of the International Smaller Companies Strategy. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2008 and previously worked for FKI Logistex. Praveen graduated B.Eng in Computer Science from Bangalore University in 2001, and completed an MBA from the University of Cambridge in 2008.

    Documents

    You can access any literature about the Fund here, either by downloading or requesting a copy by post (where available).

    To download any document you will need Adobe Reader. Please note that we can now provide you with Braille and audio transcriptions of our literature on request. It may take up to 10 days for the transcription to be completed dependent on the size of the document.

    Investor disclosure document

    Sustainability-related disclosures and climate reports

    PRIIPs key information document

    PRIIPs performance disclosures

    Disclaimers

    TOPIX Disclaimer

    The TOPIX Index Value and the TOPIX Marks are subject to the proprietary rights owned by JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc. or affiliates of JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "JPX") and JPX owns all rights and know-how relating to TOPIX such as calculation, publication and use of the TOPIX Index Value and relating to the TOPIX Marks. JPX shall not be liable for the miscalculation, incorrect publication, delayed or interrupted publication of the TOPIX Index Value.

    Important Information

    Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited (ARBN 118 567 178) is registered as a foreign company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and holds Foreign Australian Financial Services Licence No 528911. The information in this area is provided to you on the basis that you are a “wholesale client” within the meaning of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“Corporations Act”). Please advise Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited immediately if you are not a wholesale client. In no circumstances should the information in this area be made available to “retail clients” as defined by the Corporations Act.

    The information in this area contains general information only. It does not take into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs.