Capital at risk

Investment strategy

Worldwide Discovery

The strategy seeks ambitious, rare companies that could shape our future by solving today’s most important, complex problems. We aim to find them at an early stage and hold them for the long term as they scale.

Astronomical Observatory under the stars.

Investing in the immature and innovative

Unearthing the transformational growth companies of the next decade when they’re small and nimble, hoping to reap rewards by holding them as they experience the most exciting phases of growth.

Harnessing asymmetry

Worldwide Discovery is a global smaller companies equities strategy. It invests in disruptive companies, with a range of possible outcomes. 

This can lead to volatility but can increase the chance of a highly asymmetrical outcome. 

The strategy aims to outperform (net of fees) the MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index, mainly through capital appreciation, over rolling five-year periods. 

We consider opportunities below $10bn but believe immaturity, not size, is the best proxy for potential. We hold based on conviction, not market cap. 

The performance target is aspirational and is not guaranteed. We don’t use it to compile the portfolio and returns will vary. A single performance target may not be appropriate across all vehicles and jurisdictions. We may not meet our investment objectives if, for example, our growth investment style is out of favour or we misjudge the long-term earnings growth of our holdings.

Discovery: our philosophy

Investment manager, Douglas Brodie, discusses the Baillie Gifford Discovery Strategies and reflects on their philosophy and the exciting opportunities ahead.

We established the Discovery strategy to capture the opportunity in the enduring supercycle of innovation.
Douglas Brodie

Meet the managers

Documents

Philosophy and process

Explore our investment philosophy and the processes around how the team constructs the portfolio.

View PDF

Quarterly update

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

View PDF

Invest through other vehicles

Get in touch to learn about the other ways to invest, including:

  • Separate account

Strategy portfolio holdings

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

All figures up to: 31 March 2025

#CompanyFund %
1Alnylam Pharmaceuticals9.1%
2Axon Enterprise Inc6.1%
3CyberArk Software Ltd3.5%
4AeroVironment3.4%
5Zillow Group Inc Class C3.4%
6MarketAxess Holdings3.1%
7MercadoLibre2.8%
8Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC2.8%
9Upwork Inc2.5%
10Twist Bioscience Corp2.3%

Strategy holdings by sector

All figures up to: 31 March 2025

Created with Highcharts 11.4.6Health CareInformation TechnologyIndustrialsFinancialsConsumer DiscretionaryReal EstateConsumer StaplesMaterialsCommunication ServicesCash1234567891034.02%27.47%18.95%5.94%4.94%4.03%1.95%1.55%0.82%0.32%

Total: 100%

Strategy holdings by region

All figures up to: 31 March 2025

Created with Highcharts 11.4.6North AmericaEmerging MarketsUKDeveloped Asia PacificEurope (ex UK)Cash12345667.67%18.58%7.80%3.42%2.20%0.32%

Total: 100%

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.

Invest through other vehicles

Get in touch to learn about the other ways to invest, including:

  • Separate account

Insights

Key articles, videos and podcasts relating to the strategy:

Filters

Discovery Q1 update

The Discovery Team reflects on recent performance, portfolio changes and market developments.

Invest through other vehicles

Get in touch to learn about the other ways to invest, including:

  • Separate account

Invest through other vehicles

Get in touch to learn about the other ways to invest, including:

  • Separate account