Capital at risk

Investment strategy

Asia ex Japan

Around half of the world's population resides in Asia. Asian companies often have substantial addressable opportunities and decades of growth ahead of them. 

We’ve been managing Asia ex Japan portfolios for over three decades and are grateful to be entrusted by a range of clients across the world.  

Young Indian woman waiting for a train at subway station in India.

A patient approach to investing

A patient approach in the least patient markets, helping clients benefit from powerful growth tailwinds in Asia. Investors should be open-minded about where growth can come from and know the market inefficiencies they are trying to exploit. 

Asia ex Japan: our philosophy

Investment manager Roderick Snell introduces Asia ex Japan, reflecting on the exciting opportunities ahead.

Turning time to your advantage

Our key goal is to build strong relationships with like-minded clients. We know we can only do this if we deliver strong investment performance, net of costs, over the long term.  

The number of genuinely world-class companies in Asian countries is growing, and we feel very fortunate to be tasked with seeking these out. We must invest with patience and give good decisions time to prove themselves. 

We believe that being selective is imperative to those seeking the best results. 

Appreciating the under-appreciated

We believe there are three persistent inefficiencies that we are well-placed to exploit for our clients:

  • Growth duration: many companies grow for much longer than expected 
  • Growth pace: many companies grow much faster than expected 
  • Growth surprise: many companies grow when it’s least expected 

Much of our process relies on the interplay of data, experience, educated creativity and probability. This does not necessarily lend itself to a matrix or flowchart. 

Our portfolio consists of businesses that are leaders in what they do. We take confidence in the fact that these companies can invest capital productively and profitably.
Ben DurrantInvestment Manager

Meet the managers

Documents

Quarterly update

Get the latest investment commentary, portfolio overview, transactions and performance information alongside governance engagement and voting. 

Philosophy and process

Explore our investment philosophy and the processes around how the Asia Ex-Japan team construct the portfolio.

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Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.

Strategy portfolio holdings

A list of the top 10 holdings that the representative portfolio invests in.

All figures up to: 31 October 2024

#Holding% of portfolio
1TSMC9.7%
2Samsung Electronics6.2%
3Tencent6.0%
4Reliance Industries3.5%
5CNOOC3.2%
6Meituan3.2%
7SK Hynix2.6%
8MMG Limited2.5%
9Zijin Mining2.4%
10Sea Limited2.3%

Please note

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 add due to rounding.

Explore further

Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.

Insights

Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:

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Insights

Viewing 14 of 14
  1. Investment specialist Qian Zhang

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Asia

    Qian Zhang highlights three Asian companies at the forefront of global structural trends.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  2. Asia ex Japan: portfolio manager update

    Asia ex Japan Strategy’s performance, portfolio positioning and the region’s attractions for growth investors.
    May 2024
    Video27 minutes
  3. Stock story: Pinduoduo

    The innovative ecommerce company poised to take advantage of China’s large consumer base.
    February 2024
    Video4 minutes
  4. A long view of the east

    With 35 years of investing behind us, we look to the future with our Asia-ex-Japan Strategy.
    December 2023
    Document
  5. Asia ex Japan: portfolio manager update

    The strategy’s performance, portfolio positioning and the region’s attractions for growth investors.
    December 2023
    Video31 minutes
  6. China: fear or FOMO?

    Ben Buckler on how investors should steer between the twin poles of risk in China.
    December 2023
    Article5 minutes
  7. Why growth, why now?

    Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.
    December 2023
    Article17 minutes
  8. South-east Asia’s new export stars

    Unearthing growth companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
    December 2023
    Podcast
  9. Emerging markets – why bother?

    Emerging markets have underperformed developed ones recently. So, why should we invest in them?
    November 2023
    Article
  10. Finding China’s A-share jewels

    The country’s domestic markets are rich in companies with the know-how to become global leaders.
    September 2023
    Article
  11. Asia ex Japan Strategy

    Investment manager, Roderick Snell, discusses the Baillie Gifford Asia ex Japan Strategy.
    September 2023
    Video4 minutes
  12. Asia ex Japan manager update

    Roderick Snell and Qian Zhang discuss current views and portfolio positioning for the Asia ex Japan Strategy.
    May 2023
    Video36 minutes
  13. Asia ex Japan: Portfolio manager update

    Client director Andrew Keiller and investment manager Roderick Snell discuss the firm’s latest views on investing in the Asia ex Japan region.
    December 2022
    Video36 minutes
  14. Asia ex Japan: Portfolio Manager Update

    Join Roddy Snell and Ben Durrant to discuss current views and portfolio positioning for the Asia ex Japan strategy and learn why we continue to believe this is the most attractive region globally for growth investors.
    May 2022
    Video35 minutes

Asia ex Japan: our philosophy

Investment manager Roderick Snell introduces Asia ex Japan, reflecting on the exciting opportunities ahead.

  1. Investment specialist Qian Zhang

    Future Stocks: Our best ideas in Asia

    Qian Zhang highlights three Asian companies at the forefront of global structural trends.
    September 2024
    Video3 minutes
  2. Asia ex Japan: portfolio manager update

    Asia ex Japan Strategy’s performance, portfolio positioning and the region’s attractions for growth investors.
    May 2024
    Video27 minutes
  3. Stock story: Pinduoduo

    The innovative ecommerce company poised to take advantage of China’s large consumer base.
    February 2024
    Video4 minutes
  4. A long view of the east

    With 35 years of investing behind us, we look to the future with our Asia-ex-Japan Strategy.
    December 2023
    Document
  5. Asia ex Japan: portfolio manager update

    The strategy’s performance, portfolio positioning and the region’s attractions for growth investors.
    December 2023
    Video31 minutes
  6. China: fear or FOMO?

    Ben Buckler on how investors should steer between the twin poles of risk in China.
    December 2023
    Article5 minutes
  7. Why growth, why now?

    Tough times play to the partnership’s strengths: analysing what enables us to adapt and thrive amid rapid change.
    December 2023
    Article17 minutes
  8. South-east Asia’s new export stars

    Unearthing growth companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
    December 2023
    Podcast
  9. Emerging markets – why bother?

    Emerging markets have underperformed developed ones recently. So, why should we invest in them?
    November 2023
    Article
  10. Finding China’s A-share jewels

    The country’s domestic markets are rich in companies with the know-how to become global leaders.
    September 2023
    Article
  11. Asia ex Japan Strategy

    Investment manager, Roderick Snell, discusses the Baillie Gifford Asia ex Japan Strategy.
    September 2023
    Video4 minutes
  12. Asia ex Japan manager update

    Roderick Snell and Qian Zhang discuss current views and portfolio positioning for the Asia ex Japan Strategy.
    May 2023
    Video36 minutes
  13. Asia ex Japan: Portfolio manager update

    Client director Andrew Keiller and investment manager Roderick Snell discuss the firm’s latest views on investing in the Asia ex Japan region.
    December 2022
    Video36 minutes
  14. Asia ex Japan: Portfolio Manager Update

    Join Roddy Snell and Ben Durrant to discuss current views and portfolio positioning for the Asia ex Japan strategy and learn why we continue to believe this is the most attractive region globally for growth investors.
    May 2022
    Video35 minutes

Explore further

Curious to learn more about our products and what we can offer you? Please get in touch.