On the one hand, it’s me, the writer of this blog, going by the moniker ‘the Bearded General’. I’m interested in growth (especially the facial hair variety) and investment in general. As a day job, I’m currently a PhD researcher in language education, and have a fascination with the application of economic and investment metaphors to other domains.
I am also quite literally an investor in Baillie Gifford (aka BG), the Edinburgh-based asset management firm which is a core focus of the blog. A large proportion of my investment portfolio is managed by them. From a purely economic perspective, I’m invested in the long-term investment success of their assets under management; as an idealist, I’m invested in their institutional success too. BG represents a model of asset management that has not fallen afoul of the institutional pressures brought on by financialisation and limited liability. The firm also espouses a philosophy of corporate life which I admire, and which I wish would become more mainstream. In short, I’m a bearded fan with skin in the game.
That’s me, personally. But at the same time, the BG Investor is intended to represent anyone, bearded or not, with an interest in the dynamics of investment and capital growth, with specific reference to Baillie Gifford — and who wonders whether one can actually trust these self-proclaimed ‘actual’ investors.