Baillie Gifford
The job of an investor seeking companies capable of outsized returns in turbulent times is to stop hoping for steady incremental growth
Instead , she advocates “ opening your mind to the possibility of what a business can become and what it can achieve , which is often very different to what it is doing today ”. Making that imaginative leap requires us to work against another hardwired human instinct : the tendency to structure the world around us according to familiar patterns that help us feel more in control . “ We need to break out of that and think about things in a completely different way . While we have to accept we can ’ t predict the future , that doesn ’ t mean we can ’ t hypothesise about it .” For Gibson and her team , framing the ‘ what if …?’ questions should be central to a growth investor ’ s job . Another is finding the businesses that can exploit the new realities of a rapidly changing world . “ The key characteristic to look for in a great growth business is adaptability : the ability of a management team to alter their path to navigate different situations .” That , she argues , often comes down to leadership qualities .
Issue 89 - November 2022 / 19 /