Baillie Gifford is preparing to cut dozens of jobs as part of an ongoing cost review.
The Edinburgh-based asset manager, which rode the boom and subsequent slide in growth stocks such as Tesla and Moderna, recently told staff it's preparing a round of redundancies, according to people familiar with the matter.
The review will affect departments across the Scottish partnership including fixed income, client services and back office, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are not yet finalized.
The move, coming just as rival Edinburgh asset manager abrdn prepares its own wave of layoffs, is expected to affect dozens of the 2,000 staff at Baillie Gifford, which manages money for some of the world's biggest pension funds.
"As part of our regular business planning, we consider how to reduce our expenditure," a spokesperson for Baillie Gifford said. "However, our partnership structure ensures we can continue to invest in growing areas of the business while pursuing excellent long-term returns for our clients."
Baillie Gifford can trace its history back to 1908 but is more recently known for its winning streak during the pandemic, when its big bets on growth stocks caught fire and pushed its performance and assets to all-time highs.
Since then, geopolitical tensions and market volatility have hit its portfolio, which includes top positions in Spotify Technology, Shopify and Moderna. Its 10 biggest funds have lost between 7% and 42% over three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and its assets dropped from a record £336 billion ($426 billion) at the start of 2022 to £226 billion at the end of December.
As part of the cost cuts, Baillie Gifford is also shutting down four bond funds that only managed a tiny fraction of total assets. It's also decided to focus on growing its fixed income business only for U.K. clients, according to the spokesperson.
