BGFD : Another good year for Baillie Gifford Japan
Baillie Gifford Japan has announced full year results for the period that ended on 31 August 2014 (kudos to them for publishing their results so soon after the year end). It was a good year for shareholders as the share price rose by 10.8% on the back of a 9.4% increase in the net asset value, both well ahead of the return on Baillie Gifford Japan’s benchmark index (TOPIX, total return in Sterling terms).
The statement says that outperformance was driven by a broad range of stocks in the portfolio with six stocks adding more than 0.5% to the fund led by Iriso Electronics (components for the automobile industry). They say other good performers included Toyo Tire, which supplies tyres for pick-up trucks in the US, Japan Exchange Group, which runs the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Temp Holdings, a staffing agency benefiting from the increasing labour shortage in Japan and the return of women to the workforce.
Gearing was kept around the 15% level over the period. Just 11% of the fund was turned over during the year. The Board has ruled out hedging the yen for the time being.