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The chief executive of Baillie Gifford, one of the UK’s largest asset managers, has told staff that they have the option to “exit” the firm as it seeks to refocus the business on faster-growing parts of the market.
Tim Campbell said in a regular internal video update recently that UK-based staff could leave as part of a “voluntary exit” programme, before holding a business-wide meeting for all staff on the matter, according to people familiar with the situation.
Voluntary exits differ from redundancies as they allow companies to retain roles and reshape them, one of the people said.
Baillie Gifford, founded in 1908, has about £200bn in assets under management and employs 1,600 people in the UK. It has until recently focused on managing pension funds, but Campbell told the FT in a recent interview that he was restructuring the business to expand into growth areas.
The asset manager is attempting to expand to serve more family offices, US and Asia intermediary clients, such as financial advisers and wealth managers, and customers seeking greater exposure to private assets.
The shift comes as the asset management industry more broadly has experienced upheaval as investors pile into passive products and private assets, while shunning actively managed UK equities for international stocks and US tech groups.
Baillie Gifford said that it continued “to evolve, as it has done for more than a century, to remain relevant to clients and well positioned for the future”.
It added that the industry was changing as were client needs. “The future demands new capabilities and ways of working, and we must continue to adapt to meet those changes. Standing still is not an option.”
The voluntary exit programme for UK-based staff gave them “the option to leave on enhanced terms” it said, adding that this was “intended to give people choice while ensuring the firm has the skills and resources needed to succeed in the years ahead”.
Baillie Gifford had a round of redundancies in early 2024, in which fewer than 50 people were let go. This is the first time the firm has offered a voluntary exit.
Other firms in the industry have offered voluntary exit programmes in recent years, including Wellington Management. Wellington said that the programme in September 2024 “provided some long-tenured employees with personal flexibility while supporting ongoing investments in our business”.
As part of its plans to grow in parts of the market, Baillie Gifford has made appointments within certain teams. Its private companies division has grown from 17 in 2024 to 25. The firm has hired 30 people externally so far this year and 98 last year.
