A Message from Ron
I began my Wall Street analyst career in 1970, researching businesses and recommending stocks to mutual fund and hedge fund managers. Among my recommendations were Walt Disney, McDonald’s, Tropicana, Golden Nugget, Hyatt, Nike and Federal Express. After the stock prices in those businesses had doubled or tripled, I recommended selling. I did this because I earned commissions when my clients traded stocks…not when they held for the long term. When the share prices of the companies I recommended selling continued to increase, I realized that if I had faith in my research and continued to stay invested over the long term, my clients and firm would have been a lot more successful.
That realization led to the founding of Baron Capital in 1982. Baron Capital was and remains a research and investment management firm focused on investing for the long term in competitively advantaged and exceptionally well-managed growth companies.
As the Firm continues to grow, our next generation of portfolio managers and executives—led by my sons, Co-Presidents David and Michael, each with more than 22 years of experience, and our Co-CIOs Cliff Greenberg and Andrew Peck, with 41 and 29 years of experience, respectively—are all assuming more responsibilities for our businesses. Today, we have 212 employees, 43 of whom are part of the investment team, including 18 portfolio managers and 25 research professionals. Many of our employees have spent nearly their entire careers at Baron Capital. This is an uncommon level of loyalty in the financial services industry and reflects both the talent we have attracted and the culture we have built. We are also proud to say we have never had a layoff.
While our Firm has grown significantly and evolved over the past 43 years, our investment philosophy remains unchanged. Across all strategies, we rely on fundamental research, not algorithms, to identify and invest in companies with meaningful growth opportunities, durable competitive advantages and outstanding leadership. We invest in individuals with character we admire and who guard their reputations with the same care we do. Our long-term perspective allows us to think like business owners, enabling us to seize opportunities often overlooked by those focused on short-term market moves or next quarter’s earnings.
We apply the same long-term philosophy to managing our Firm. When we founded our business in 1982, Baron Capital managed $10 million in assets. By 1992, that number had grown to $100 million. Today, our assets under management total $45.2 billion (10/27/2025), and we have earned more than $52.8 billion (10/27/2025) in realized and unrealized gains for our investors. My family and the Firm are the largest investors, more than 10% of the Firm’s total investments. Nearly all our employees also have a meaningful portion of their net worth invested in Baron Funds and partnerships, further aligning our interests with those of our clients.
Why do I think we have achieved performance far better than market benchmarks? The answer is simple. It is a combination of our investment process, our vision for growth opportunities of the businesses in which we invest and the talented individuals with whom we work.
By staying focused and disciplined, we strive to create lasting value for our clients and fellow employees. Whether our clients are institutions, financial advisors or individual investors, we are obsessed with delivering strong investment returns that can fulfill our Mission to “Change Lives.”
Thank you for your trust and partnership. We look forward to continuing this journey together.
