Fund Evaluator:

Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 Overview

Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 (BGITX) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Large Growth fund. Baillie Gifford Funds launched the fund in 2008.

The investment seeks capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks and other equity securities. It invests predominantly in securities issued by companies located in countries represented in the MSCI ACWI (ex U.S.) Index, which includes issuers from a range of developed and emerging market countries. The fund ordinarily invests in securities of issuers located in at least three countries outside the U.S.

About Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 (BGITX)

There are 6 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.73 years: Roderick Snell (2024), Tom Walsh (2018), Jenny Davis (2016), Steve Vaughan (2022), Chris Davies (2021), Donald Farquharson (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI ACWI Ex USA GR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has 82 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 32.5% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has 93.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 4.0%. There is 93.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has 2.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $415 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Foreign Large Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

BGITX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Foreign Large Growth category. Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is 43% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has a portfolio turnover rate of 19%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Foreign Large Growth category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 returned 0.5%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Foreign Large Growth category had an average return of -2.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 has a trailing yield of 0.82%, which is below the 0.95% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 8.5%, 2.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 12.9% over the past year (grade of C), 11.3% over the past three years (grade of C) and 2.0% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 7.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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