Vittorio Lavioso

I became increasingly attracted to investing while going through law school, to the point where I decided that was the direction I wanted to take. A serendipitous encounter with a TechCrunch article interviewing former senior partner Charles Plowden led me to read all I could on the firm and its investments, which pushed me to apply.

Now I work as an analyst in Baillie Gifford’s Private Companies Team. We aim to find and invest in what we believe are the most exciting privately held growth companies in the world. My job primarily consists of supporting portfolio managers in generating investable ideas and reviewing existing portfolio holdings.  

Baillie Gifford felt quite unorthodox to a certain degree – different from other experiences I had so far. People were genuinely interested in hearing and understanding how I thought and what made me tick. I enjoyed it.

The level of exposure you are offered from day one – direct interaction with some of the world’s most visionary entrepreneurs and business leaders – has been a highlight. It’s a great opportunity to do work that is both highly intellectually stimulating while also maintaining a practical angle – it is not about doing theoretical exercises, it’s about generating actionable ideas that can hopefully generate value, while providing stable and supportive capital to entrepreneurs and businesses that move our societies forward.

Baillie Gifford is a thoughtful environment where talented individuals with very diverse life and study experiences work together to discuss investing in companies that can create value for our clients. The level of intellectual diversity is truly significant.

I believe that in our job you do not always need to be in a specific location to generate good work. You can alternate between doing deep research, discussion and brainstorming with your team and time spent closer to the companies or the trends you are researching.