Portfolio manager changes to Baillie Gifford Global Alpha fund

March 05, 2026

Plan sponsors may wish to consider whether this investment news has any implications for the investment options available within their plans. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada purchases units of the funds listed below, which are established as segregated funds in accordance with the Insurance Companies Act (Canada).

This is an informational update only and you don’t need to take any action as a result of this news.

In late 2025, Baillie Gifford announced that Global Alpha’s Portfolio Manager (PM) Spencer Adair would be retiring on March 31, 2026. Adair has been a PM of the Global Alpha mandate since its inception in 2005 and a partner of the firm since 2013. He will remain on the strategy until his retirement.

Global Alpha is currently managed by a four-person team that also includes Malcolm MacColl, Helen Xiong, and Michael Taylor. There is no lead PM. They make decisions together with the agreement of at least two PMs required to add a new stock to the portfolio.

MacColl and Xiong will provide continuity and experience on Global Alpha going forward. MacColl has worked on Global Alpha since its inception in 2005 and has a total of 26 years of investment experience, all at Baillie Gifford. Xiong joined the team in May 2020 and was promoted to decision maker in May 2021. Prior to that, Xiong was a PM for US Equity Growth, and a US trusted advisor for Global Alpha. She has 17 years of total investment experience, all at Baillie Gifford.

Michael Taylor recently joined the Global Alpha team on March 31, 2025, temporarily expanding the strategy’s decision-makers from three to four. Taylor had worked at Baillie Gifford from 2009 to 2014 and rejoined the firm in 2022 to lead the U.S. Alpha strategy. Taylor will continue to be a PM on U.S. Alpha and will leverage his U.S. equities knowledge to support Global Alpha.

Global Alpha is also supported by two investment analysts, an ESG analyst, and a junior analyst. The strategy also leverages Baillie Gifford’s trusted advisor network, which consists of colleagues that lend idea generation and research to the PM team. The trusted advisors meet with the PMs to rank portfolio stocks and discuss stock ideas approximately every six weeks.

GRS Investment Solutions team view

Adair’s retirement is a notable loss to the team given his tenure on the strategy. We met with Baillie Gifford’s Global Alpha team on January 12, 2026. Our concerns are somewhat mitigated by the remaining Portfolio Managers’ extensive experience in investment management. Baillie Gifford has managed the transition well. Global Alpha has been managed by three PMs for most of its 20-year history and will return to that structure when Adair retires. Furthermore, we take comfort in the analyst and trusted advisor resources dedicated to the strategy.

We have placed the Baillie Gifford Global Alpha fund under Additional Monitoring (least severe category) on the GRS Watch List. We will continue to monitor the strategy through the transition and provide further updates as necessary.

Questions?

Please contact your Sun Life Group Retirement Services representative*.

*In Quebec, registered as a Group annuity plans advisor.