Meet our people: Hamish Maxwell

I discovered my interest in the investment management industry while studying for my MBA. When I started talking to contacts about potential careers, it wasn’t long before people started recommending Baillie Gifford. The firm genuinely seeks people from different professional backgrounds. I used to be a Royal Naval Officer on Trident submarines, helping to deliver the nuclear deterrent, so the very highest levels of professionalism and leadership were expected. These skills are just as important in my Client Manager role at Baillie Gifford, as we’re asking clients to trust us with significant investments that are important to their future.

The Client Manager programme is both generous in its resourcing, and patient in its approach. It’s not uncommon for businesses to hurry training. But here you’re given around two years to build your understanding of the firm and industry, and clients and their investments. Our clients are helping to finance things like people’s retirements and important charitable work, so we’re dealing with some very sophisticated organisations. They need to trust Baillie Gifford, and it’s my role to help us earn that trust.

There are two distinct Client Manager streams at Baillie Gifford – generalists and specialists. Generalists look after the relationships with our clients and are typically organised on a regional basis. I work on the specialist stream, where we have expert knowledge on the firm’s different investment strategies, and we help to deliver this knowledge to clients. I’m part of the International Equities specialist team with particular responsibility for our International Concentrated Growth (ICG) strategy. ICG is a newer opportunity for clients to invest in, and I feel lucky to have the chance to help develop a strategy.

Every day in this role is different. I could be briefing colleagues on developments in the strategy or overseeing the design of a new client presentation. There will be meetings to update clients, and the opportunity to meet with potential new investors. Most of the clients I help to service are in North America, so prior to Covid, I was visiting the USA five to ten times a year. But I’m really enjoying home life in Edinburgh too, having moved here for the role. My wife and I hope to start a family, and we’re looking forward to taking part in the firm’s family activities. These include a Children’s Christmas party and trips to Edinburgh Zoo.