Sponsored by Baillie Gifford
The value of an investment in the fund, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested.
While some see capitalism as the problem, Lee Qian, joint manager of Baillie Gifford’s Positive Change Fund, sees it as the solution to many of the pressing problems society faces.
The developed world’s relationship with capitalism is becoming increasingly complex and inconsistent. We reprimand Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big everything. Yet we love the choice and convenience these bring to our lives. In the world of positive change companies are backed for their potential to drive society forward as well as to offer returns Lee Qian doesn’t take the transformative power of capitalism for granted. When he was growing up in Nanjing in the nineties, two out of three people in China lived in poverty.
‘We lived in an apartment which didn’t have central heating and my parents’ bedroom was our living-room,’ he says.
Fast forward to 2020 and China has changed beyond recognition. The poverty level is below 20 per cent, living standards have vastly improved and the country hosts some of the world’s fastest growing and most innovative companies.
‘Even some of the poorest people in China now have better living conditions than my parents had,’ says Lee.
He has seen first-hand how Chinese businesses, particularly the big ‘platform companies’ such as Alibaba and Tencent have helped transform the world’s most populous country.
‘Chinese businesses have made a tremendously positive impact on society. They have created benefits broadly for the whole of society.’
Lee’s own journey took him to the West, and to Edinburgh, where he co-manages Baillie Gifford’s Positive Change Fund.
In the world of positive change companies are backed for their potential to drive society forward as well as to offer returns.Take Kenya’s Safaricom, one of the 30 or so “truly exceptional” investments in the fund. It started off as a telecoms business and now derives a third of its revenue from providing mobile financial services.Lee explains: ‘It’s used by millions of people in Kenya to pay for goods and services and send money to loved ones, enabling them to participate in the economy more efficiently. It’s also a great business opportunity.’For Lee, purpose and profit can go hand-in-hand. Shares in Ørsted, once known as Danish Oil and Natural Gas, have risen 40 per cent in the past year thanks to […]