Baillie Gifford boss steps down after ‘artwashing’ row

The long-serving boss of Baillie Gifford, the asset manager recently embroiled in an “artwashing” row over its sponsorship of literary festivals, is stepping down after more than three decades.

Andrew Telfer, 57, one of three managing partners, will retire in March next year after almost 33 years at the Edinburgh-based business, including 13 years as a managing partner and chief executive. He will hand over to Tim Campbell, 49, another veteran who has been a partner for 12 of his 25 years with the firm.

Baillie Gifford, whose £11 billion Scottish Mortgage trust made lucrative early bets on Amazon, Tesla and others, became the focus of a high-profile “artwashing” campaign in the spring.

The fund manager, which had more than £225 billion of assets under management at the end of last year, was criticised for backing fossil fuel companies by activists from Fossil Free Books who argued that such investments conflicted with its sponsorship of literary festivals. Charlotte Church, the singer, and the comedian Nish Kumar pulled out of the Hay Festival in protest.

Despite arguing that only 2 per cent of Baillie Gifford’s client funds were invested in such companies, against an industry average of 11 per cent, its sponsorship deals with arts festivals including Hay, Cheltenham and Edinburgh ended.

Nick Thomas, a Baillie Gifford partner, said: “Our collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, spanning decades, was rooted in our shared interest in making Edinburgh a thriving and culturally vibrant place to live and work. In recent years we have been proud to support the schools’ and children’s programmes, providing free books and creating opportunities for young readers to meet authors.

“Baillie Gifford is a long-term investor with high ethical standards and a complete focus on doing what is right by our clients.”

Telfer did not refer to the sponsorship row in his statement and said he was retiring after a “long and fulfilling career”.

“It’s interesting to reflect on how much has changed,” he added. “When I became a managing partner in 2012, the firm managed £77 billion mainly for institutional clients. Today, our client base is more varied, and we have offices worldwide. Despite our growth, our focus on investment excellence and commitment to our clients hasn’t changed. Tim’s wealth of experience and unwavering motivation are invaluable assets to our firm and clients.”

Founded in 1908 to finance rubber planters in Malaya, Baillie Gifford has prospered under Telfer’s stewardship. In 2019, the fund manager’s growth stock strategy produced stellar returns for investors in Scottish Mortgage, and it became the largest independent investor in Tesla, second only to Elon Musk, chief executive of the electric car maker. In April, Baillie Gifford voiced its support for Musk’s controversial $56 billion proposed pay package, stating it “strengthened alignment” between client interests and Tesla management.

In the past five years Scottish Mortgage shares have risen almost 65 per cent.

Telfer’s successor Campbell joined the firm in 1999 as an emerging markets fund manager, a background that may prove valuable as the firm eyes fresh opportunities in countries such as Kazakhstan and Vietnam.

In a recent emerging markets report, Baillie Gifford highlighted new investments in Dino Polska, a grocery chain operating in rural Poland, and, while foreign investors are pulling record amounts of money out of China, it invested in Luckin Coffee, which has overtaken Starbucks as China’s largest coffee company.