How to tap into fast growing firms around the world

WHAT DOES IT DO? Run by well-known investment firm Baillie Gifford, it aims to grow savers’ money by ploughing it into companies around the world. It looks for businesses that are entrepreneurial but not yet mature, typically with a market value of less than £4bn.

WHAT DOES THE MANAGER INVEST IN? Douglas Brodie, who joined in 2001 and manages the trust, has a background in biology and biochemistry. The largest holding is in MarketAxess Holdings, which lets major investors trade bonds. Grocery company Ocado features in the top ten, as does electric car company Tesla.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? Patrick Thomas, at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, says: ‘It targets global growth companies with a bias towards technology.’ Both the trust’s share price and the underlying value of its holdings have been ‘very strong’ for three years.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS LIKE? Thomas says managers ‘buy small companies that genuinely transform industries, and do it before anyone else, with experience in the unlisted space’.

ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES? The strategy is highly volatile, Thomas warns, though it is ‘illogical’ for investors to expect anything else from a fund investing in smaller companies. It also has a heavy weighting to the US technology sector.