Active ETFs continue to attract investor interest and dollars, and now one of the industry's most established active managers is joining the market.

Baillie Gifford has launched its first actively managed ETF suite in the United States, introducing four new equity strategies spanning global growth, international equities, and emerging markets.

The launch marks another milestone in the firm's U.S. expansion. Founded in Edinburgh in 1908, Baillie Gifford now manages more than $260 billion globally, including over $100 billion for U.S. clients. The firm says the new ETFs are designed to provide investors with a more flexible and tax-efficient way to access its active strategies.

"Active ETFs are growing rapidly, but genuinely differentiated, long-term growth offerings remain scarce in an ETF wrapper," said Joe Stellato, Head of U.S. Wealth at Baillie Gifford, in a statement announcing the launch.

One of the new funds, the Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth ETF, (BTRGG), brings the firm's long-running global growth strategy into an ETF structure for the first time.

Speaking on The ETF Show, Diana Philip, investment specialist at Baillie Gifford, said the firm's investment philosophy is rooted in identifying a small number of exceptional companies capable of driving long-term wealth creation.

"The evidence going back over 100 years points to just a very small number of companies really making a difference for wealth creation over the very long term," Philip said. "You need an active approach to be able to find those needles among the rest of the haystack."

According to Philip, the firm's global approach reflects the belief that transformational businesses can emerge from any geography, sector, or industry.

"We are looking to invest in a handful of exceptional companies that will really transform returns for our clients over the long term," she said.

BTRGG is benchmark agnostic and maintains a concentrated portfolio. The ETF currently holds 38 companies and typically invests in between 30 and 60 stocks. Philip said that concentration allows the portfolio managers to focus on their highest-conviction ideas rather than mirror a benchmark.

The launch also comes at a time when Baillie Gifford believes long-term investing is becoming increasingly difficult for many market participants.

"Markets are becoming ever more crowded, ever more impatient, and crowded around what's really a pretty narrow set of narratives," Philip said.

The firm believes investors willing to look beyond short-term market noise may find opportunities in areas undergoing significant transformation, including artificial intelligence, healthcare, automation, energy systems, digital commerce, education, and mobility.

For Baillie Gifford, the move into active ETFs is less about changing its investment philosophy, and more about delivering that philosophy through a wrapper that investors increasingly prefer. As active ETFs continue to gather assets, the firm's latest launch highlights how even long-established active managers are adapting to meet evolving investor demand.

Source: The ETF Show - Baillie Gifford Long Term Global Growth ETF (BGGG)