Baillie Gifford US Growth vs Saba Capital: investors to have their say

A crucial vote is imminent for shareholders in the Baillie Gifford US Growth trust, where US activist investor Saba Capital is battling with the board for change.

Who is Saba Capital?

Saba appeared on the UK scene in 2024, targeting seven investment trusts. After taking large stakes in these trusts, it launched campaigns to remove the current boards and change their investment approach because, Saba argued, they weren’t doing enough for investors to improve returns and narrow their discounts to net asset value.

Spearheaded by founder and chief investment officer Boaz Weinstein, Saba called shareholder meetings to vote on its proposals, but was defeated in all of these initial votes.

But that hasn’t deterred Saba who has continued to push for change in the trust universe and, as of October 2026, the activist has secured board control of two UK investment trusts: Edinburgh Worldwide and Impax Environmental Markets.

It has also secured a seat on SDCL Efficiency Income Trust’s board. SDCL is being wound down and Weinstein, along with fellow major shareholder General Atlantic, represented by Richard Pavry, successfully sought a role in overseeing the process, a proposal backed by the incumbent board and shareholders.

Saba had previously negotiated tender, exit, restructuring or standstill agreements involving Herald, The European Smaller Companies Trust, City Natural Resources Growth and Income, Middlefield Canadian Income, Schroder UK Mid Cap, BlackRock Throgmorton / BlackRock Smaller Companies, Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies / JP Morgan US Smaller Companies alongside seven Aberdeen - managed investment trusts.

What campaigns is Saba running now?

In the UK, Saba is currently fighting on several fronts. The more pertinent for retail investors is the Baillie Gifford US Growth battle although there’s also an ongoing situation at Workspace Group, a London-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), where Saba lost a vote in July to put its proposed board in charge.

Baillie Gifford US Growth vs Saba history

This is the third time Baillie Gifford US Growth has been requisitioned by Saba since the activist burst onto the UK scene. It was one of the original seven trusts Saba targeted, and the activist has continued to argue for a shakeup in its management in the interim.

In previous attempts, Saba pushed to remove the entire board and appoint Weinstein himself and another candidate in their place. After losing this battle, Saba voted against the reappointment of four directors standing for re-election in 2025 and several other motions, but other shareholders voted the other way. Saba also blocked the proposed merger between Baillie Gifford US Growth and sister trust Edinburgh Worldwide, which is also managed by Baillie Gifford, but Saba gained control of the board back in April 2026.

Saba is one of the biggest shareholders in Baillie Gifford US Growth, owning more than 30% of the stock. This gives it the ability to call multiple votes and put forward motions to change the company.

In its latest proposal, Saba has put forward three candidates to join the board: Jason Chen, Thomas McGlade and James Waterlow. Saba has also said that as the trust’s major shareholder, it would urge the new board to offer shareholders a 100% cash exit, at or near net asset value, from the trust.

There’s been no opportunity so far for shareholders to hear from Chen, McGlade or Waterlow directly about their plans for the company if they joined the board. The current directors argue this doesn’t allow investors to know what long-term future they’re voting for in the company with this trio at the helm.

Little is known about the three nominees, but it’s been confirmed that Waterlow is a Saba employee and Chen is one of the four Saba-nominated directors installed on the now Saba-controlled board of Impax Environmental Markets trust. This has raised questions over his independence and indeed that of all three Saba-backed nominees.

Baillie Gifford US has been the best performing trust in the IT North America sector over the past year and beaten the S&P 500 benchmark, largely thanks to its sizeable SpaceX holding it has had since before the Initial Public Offering (IPO). However, it has lagged longer term making the lowest share price total return in the sector over five years.

Its discount is around 4.8% now, narrowing from when Saba first acted against it in 2024 when it was closer to 14%, but widening after it moved to a premium earlier this year.

The current board is recommending shareholders vote against Saba’s proposal.

Key dates and how to vote on AJ Bell

For Baillie Gifford US shareholders that are AJ Bell customers they have until midnight on the 20 October to cast their vote.

The results will be announced at the annual general meeting (AGM) on the 23 October.

As a shareholder in any company, your investment gives you voting rights which allow you to participate in key company decisions made at shareholder meetings and make choices about how the company is run, which could impact its future performance.

You can vote on matters like whether a dividend should be paid, or the overall strategy of the company. These happen every year at the AGM, but companies can also hold extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) when necessary.

AJ Bell offers a system for electronic voting instructions on UK and international shares in any of your AJ Bell accounts. This means that if you can’t make the Meeting in person you can still make your voice heard in the future of your companies.

To do this you need to:

• Log in to your AJ Bell account on our website. Note that instructions cannot be submitted via the AJ Bell app
• Select "Voting Instruction" from your account menu
• Review your shareholder meetings and choose to submit an instruction

You'll be directed to a website managed by Broadridge to complete your instruction, as AJ Bell uses this third-party provider for voting services.

Voting at shareholder meetings is a way to have your say and AJ Bell customers are notified of corporate actions and shareholder meetings such as AGMs and EGMs, and are able to vote on them via the website.

If you want to receive a company's wider communications, this is something you have to opt in for, which you can do through your AJ Bell account.