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Proxy voting
Voting is a core part of our role as responsible stewards of our clients' capital. Every voting decision is made with the objective of supporting a company's long-term prospects and, in turn, the long-term outcomes we seek for clients.
Our voting analysis is grounded in Baillie Gifford's bottom-up investment philosophy and led by the specific investment case and investment mandate.
We evaluate every resolution on its merits rather than relying on prescriptive, one-size-fits-all policies.
Company circumstances – such as stage of development, geography and industry dynamics – shape what good governance looks like in practice. We believe overly rigid policies can sometimes produce unwarranted and occasionally perverse outcomes that are not in a company’s best interests.
We prefer to take direct voting responsibility on behalf of clients to strengthen the effectiveness of our stewardship. For segregated mandates, clients may retain voting rights or provide direction on specific issues, as agreed.
The following chart summarises Baillie Gifford's proxy voting activity in 2025. We voted at 1,105 company meetings out of a possible 1,154 – 96 percent of the meetings at which we were eligible to vote.
While we aim to vote all clients' shares, there are instances where we cannot vote due to regulatory requirements or operational constraints. For example, since 2022, we have not voted at shareholder meetings for our remaining Russian holdings to avoid any potential breach of international sanctions related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Baillie Gifford proxy voting activity 2025
1 For (12,014 resolutions) 94.5
2 Against (526 resolutions) 4.1
3 Abstain (173 resolutions) 1.4