Baillie Gifford has confirmed that Gerald Smith, a thirty-year veteran of the firm, is to retire.
Mr Smith ran the Monks investment trust from 2006 to 2015 until he was replaced by Charles Plowden following a period of underperformance.
Mr Smith had pursued a defensive stance in the years following the financial crisis, and the subsequent strong run of market left Monks trailing its peers.
In the years since 2015, he worked on the multi-asset desk at Baillie Gifford, and was integral to the launch of Baillie Gifford’s Multi-Asset Income fund in 2018.
Mr Smith is a partner at Baillie Gifford and retires at the end of April 2019, alongside Alison Warden, a partner in finance and operations; and Jonathan Bates, an investment manager in the ACWI Alpha strategy.
At the same time Gary Robinson, who co-manages the US equity and stewardship funds at Baillie Gifford, has been promoted to the partner ranks, alongside Jan Oliver, who works in the client department.
Mr Robinson, who joined the firm in 2003, is a named co-manager alongside head of US equities Tom Slater and others on the £1.8bn Baillie Gifford American fund.
Andrew Telfer, joint senior partner at Baillie Gifford, said: "We are inviting Jan and Gary to join the Baillie Gifford partnership, due to their substantial contribution to date and the increasing leadership roles that they will play in future.
"At the same time we all thank Gerald, Alison and Jonathan for their many years of exceptional service to our clients.
"Thanks to our stable partnership structure, we invest with conviction and always place client interests first."
david.thorpe@ft.com
