(Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC on Wednesday said it substantially outperformed its benchmark in the first half of its 2021 financial year, with SoftBank Group Corp being the largest positive contributor.
The Japan-focused medium to smaller sized companies investor said its net asset value total return, deducting borrowings at fair value, increased by 20% in the six months ended February 28. In comparison, its benchmark, the TOPIX index total return in sterling terms, saw an 11% increase for the period.
Baillie Gifford Japan said the largest positive contributors to its performance were SoftBank, Outsourcing, Sumitomo Metal Mining and MonotaRO, while the two largest detractors were Calbee and Colopl.
Net asset value per share as at February 28 was 1,006.3 pence, up from 839.8p the year before.
Shares in Baillie Gifford Japan were down 1.9% at 1,079.02p each in London on Wednesday.
Looking ahead, Baillie Gifford Japan said it continues to believe that there is "significant" opportunity to pursue a growth orientated stock-picking strategy in Japan.
"Going forward, short-term returns will inevitably be volatile but given the number of exciting growing businesses to invest in we remain optimistic about securing a good outcome for shareholders over the long term," it said.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC (BGFD)