A meeting of minds
Our shared beliefs
At the core of everything we do at Baillie Gifford are our Shared Beliefs. These are the principles that guide us every day, defining the culture of our firm.
Our firm must be an engaging and progressive place to work
It is imperative that we attract and retain a diverse group of talented individuals. We need to create opportunities and challenges while providing support. We are committed to getting better at everything we do and remaining relevant to our clients’ needs as they evolve.
Our actions and behaviours should support society as a whole
We seek to set a positive example as an investor, as an employer and within our communities. We aim to uphold and promote the highest standards of service and professional behaviours and help enhance the investment industry's reputation.
Our ownership structure is a key strength
Being independent, private and wholly-owned by working partners allows us to focus on our clients and their investments. It helps our stability, motivation and culture and enables us to take a long-term view in all that we do, including investing, client relationships and staff development.
We put our clients’ interests ahead of our own
Our actions must be honourable and beneficial for our clients, for the companies we invest in and for society. We aim for excellence in all levels of client service and wish to be seen as a trusted long-term partner and adviser.
Our active investment management will add material value for clients over the long run
Successful active investment management is not easy: it requires dedication, independent thought and a long-term perspective.
We should be actively engaged shareholders of the companies in which we invest
Our equity investment process is grounded on the long-term ownership of growing businesses. We want to help these companies fulfil their potential by encouraging them to invest in growth opportunities and to ignore the short-term pressures of the stock market.
BG: Baillie Gifford is wholly owned by its 57 partners who all work within the firm.
Me: I want to work in a firm where I feel I am part of a team where senior people actually know my name.
We’re looking for people who want to learn – not just during the internship or graduate programme but throughout their career at Baillie Gifford. Your career here does not need to be linear and, to a degree, will be decided by you and where your interests lie. We create a space that allows your curiosity to thrive, where you can rotate through different roles and teams to explore your potential.
Questions to ask yourself
Am I excited by a career where I’ll be continually learning?
Am I good at proactively seeking out opportunities?
When graduate trainees join us, we don’t expect them to be the finished article straight away. Our trainees come from very diverse backgrounds, but all have one thing in common – they appreciate and embrace the long-term goal of growth and self-development. It’s these people that we can mentor most effectively – offering guidance and support throughout their entire careers.
Questions to ask yourself
Am I willing to learn from others and, in turn, share my own ideas?
Am I happy to take a long-term view of my development?
We’re not afraid to take a path that makes us different, and we’re always looking to challenge the norm. This means being open to all voices and opinions, regardless of someone’s background or degree subject. We’re looking for brave people who aren’t afraid to form opinions, share ideas and learn. There’s no place for arrogance either because it’s important to recognise that we can all be wrong sometimes.
Questions to ask yourself
Can I discuss my ideas with conviction?
Can I learn from situations that haven’t gone to plan?
Our Ways of Working
Since the spring of 2020, Baillie Gifford has learnt that we can work in new ways, which has resulted in us having more flexibility with our working environment than ever before. Greater flexibility has been maintained, as ultimately, we have realised many of the benefits of working in this manner. However, we are also a collaborative organisation that has missed aspects of office life. Therefore, we are combining the best parts of the office and remote working, resulting in a hybrid way of working.
These ways of working are based on principles such as trust, empowerment, client outcomes and collaboration, rather than detailed policies. Explaining what this means on a day-to-day basis is difficult as we are committed to experimentation and ongoing evaluation to ensure that we continue to focus on excellent investment research and performance, client service, and responsiveness. This focus relates to our external clients and internal colleagues and must remain our paramount purpose. Therefore, we do expect regular attendance in our office hubs, but we don’t set fixed days or hours firm-wide; what works for each team is agreed upon locally, focusing on flexibility and outputs.
A vibrant social scene
Every year we run a full schedule of social and charity events for our employees and clients. Coming together and sharing experiences helps to create and maintain a vibrant sense of community here at Baillie Gifford.
Annual dinner and dance
We start the year with our annual dinner and dance. This includes a three-course meal, and a band to dance the night away to.
Office outing
In the summer, our office day out usually involves a group activity in the afternoon. These vary year-on-year, but in the past, we’ve tried our hand at chocolate making, braved GoApe, been mountain biking and clay pigeon shooting. Then in the evening there’s a buffet, drinks and a disco.
Christmas party
We hold a Christmas-market themed event with a drink’s reception, raffle, buffet, and silent disco and yes, Santa does make an appearance!
Cinema and theatre fundraisers
We run two fundraiser events in spring and autumn. We sell tickets for either a cinema private viewing or show at the Edinburgh Playhouse. All proceeds go to our chosen charity of the year.
Children’s Christmas party
Why should the adults have all the fun? Our children’s Christmas party at the Balmoral Hotel is open to all our employees’ children. There are entertainers, plated food and a visit from Santa.
Zoo day
We run a ticketed trip to Edinburgh Zoo. A great, fun day out with all proceeds donated to our chosen charity.
Groups, clubs and community work
Whatever your interest or passion, Baillie Gifford has a club for you. For those who enjoy sport we offer yoga, football, running, cycling and rugby. If you’re more creative, there’s the chance to join our knitting club or the choir. All our clubs were started by employees who were keen to share their passion with others. If you don’t see an existing club for your own hobby, or you have an idea for a new type of network, then we’ll give you our full support to set it up and promote it across the business.
All teams within the firm also have the opportunity to get involved in our community work. Whether that’s through volunteering days or sharing their expertise with other organisations and charities. In the last year, our HR department have provided career coaching and our Finance department have shared their accounting skills with local, social enterprise start-ups.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is not only a wonderful place to work, but also an incredible place to live, big enough to hold everything you need, but small enough that everything is easy to access. You can walk around the centre in an hour, we have a 24/7 public transport system, and an airport connecting you to the rest of the world.
As the definitive Festival City, there are incredible events throughout the year, and an abundance of galleries, museums and music venues, all set amid one of Europe’s most historic cities, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, Calton Hill, and countless other iconic monuments.
World-class sports facilities and venues, like the Commonwealth Pool, Murrayfield, and the Ratho climbing arena, make Edinburgh the ideal place for an active lifestyle, and the same goes for the nearby beaches, hills and treasured National Parks. However, if shopping is more your thing, you’ll find top High Street stores along Princes Street, as well as a range of independent stores in areas like Stockbridge and Bruntsfield.
No matter how long you stay here, you simply can’t help being awestruck every time you explore. And we should know, we’ve been lucky enough to call Edinburgh home for over 100 years.
BG: For over a century we have run our firm from one of the most vibrant capitals in the world.
Me: I want to have a career in a city where the quality of life is as good as the quality of the work.