Jenny Davis had a brush with crisis early on in her career: The co-manager of the $3.6bn Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 fund was finishing an internship in the financial industry in the same week that Lehman Brothers collapsed. This left an indelible mark, and Davis now focuses on companies around the world that can grow despite whatever events come at them — such as a pandemic and a cold war between the US and China.

Davis and her co-managers at Baillie Gifford International Alpha 2 focus on long-term trends and companies with considerable competitive advantages. Some are rapid growers — such as Alibaba or Latin America’s MercadoLibre. Some grow at a slower, though steady, pace; others are savvy capital allocators that are expanding into new markets; while still others, like Ryanair, have a structural advantage that sets them apart, even in down cycles.