Joe Stellato, Head of US Wealth for Baillie Gifford, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, at iCapital Connect 2026 to discuss growth equity opportunities and a long-term investment philosophy.
Stellato emphasizes the importance of Baillie Gifford’s private partnership structure, which is owned by 59 partners, all of whom actively work at the firm. He notes that this structure creates strong alignment and allows for a long-term investment approach, with average holding periods of seven to eight years in public markets and even longer on the private side.
Within private markets, Stellato highlights growth equity as a core focus. He explains that the firm targets Series C or later-stage companies with more than $50 million in revenue and annual growth of at least 30%. He adds that Baillie Gifford’s value lies in the potential multi-decade, trusted partnership it offers founders, as the firm shows unparalleled patience and support as companies scale toward potential IPO.
Baillie Gifford is a 118-year-old global investment management firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland with $273 billion in assets under management across specialist equity, fixed income, and multi-asset portfolios. The firm has deployed over $10 billion into private companies since 2012. Stellato also notes that the firm is expanding into the international and emerging markets side of ETFs.
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