Meet the Investment Research Team - Nathan

The best ideas win out

To me, the best learning resource at Baillie Gifford, good though the training sessions and the library are, is the people. There is a huge wealth of experience and knowledge here. Staff turnover tends to be low, and consequently there are many investors with decades of experience. Some of the most instructional moments for me have been just listening to others in stock discussions – the way they analyse a problem or reframe it. I think there's only so much that can be formally trained.

There’s a view at Baillie Gifford that, ultimately, the best ideas should win out, and this requires a relatively flat hierarchical structure. That means that even as a graduate, you will have a good level of autonomy to approach your work in the way that you think is best.

I'm currently working on the Japan Team as an investment analyst, where I recently attended a Zoom call with Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's chief executive. For growth investors, this is like meeting Elvis.

Be unapologetic about who you are

Having graduated some time ago, I was happy that Baillie Gifford did not impose any cut-off on the number of years since graduation. I was the first in my family to go to university and did so without a clear end goal.

After graduating, I spent seven years in the electricity industry in non-graduate roles while I worked out what I wanted to do longer-term. It was, unintentionally, the best route for me — I learned a lot about working with others, prioritising competing workloads, etc. I'm grateful that Baillie Gifford accepted this slightly unusual path into the role.

I can only speak for what worked for me, but I encourage others to develop interests rather than narrow career ambitions. Unintuitive though it may be, this will make you much more employable. I would also advise candidates not to overthink what an interviewer wants to hear or read—be unapologetic about who you are. If you are the right fit, this will only improve your chances.