Baron Emerging Markets Fund

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is the world’s largest dedicated chip foundry, producing leading-edge logic and advanced packaging for customers like NVIDIA, Apple, AMD, and Broadcom across AI accelerators, smartphones, PCs, and autos, with fabs in Taiwan, Japan, China, and Arizona.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is the dominant force in leading-edge foundry manufacturing, benefiting from economies of scale and a superior cost structure. Its track record of deploying new technology faster than competitors helps it maintain market share and pricing power, with gross margins above 60%. We believe AI accelerators and advanced packaging will drive mid-20% revenue growth through 2029, and its lead at N2 and A14 keeps customers locked in. Falling capital intensity should lift free cash flow and sustain roughly 30% returns on equity.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS) is a global technology conglomerate operating across semiconductors, including DRAM and NAND flash memory and high-bandwidth memory, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and foundry manufacturing services for external customers.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS) is the bellwether for global technology innovation and continues to deliver robust earnings across memory, logic, display, and smartphones. We are confident Samsung can maintain its technology leadership for years to come, given its strong research and development track record and ability to meet ever-changing global consumer demand.

SK hynix Inc. (000660.KS) designs, manufactures, and sells memory semiconductors, including dynamic random access memory and NAND flash memory products.
SK hynix Inc. (000660.KS) benefits from structurally growing memory demand as devices become increasingly computationally intensive. We believe it will remain a key beneficiary of rising adoption of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which leverages advanced packaging to vertically stack DRAM chips, delivering higher bandwidth, improved power efficiency, and a smaller form factor. It has emerged as the industry leader in cutting-edge HBM, and we expect it to generate strong earnings growth over the next several years, with significant upside from incremental AI-driven demand.

Tencent Holdings Limited (700.HK) develops and operates digital platforms, offering online and mobile games, social and communication applications, performance-based and display advertising, and financial technology and cloud services.
Tencent Holdings Limited (700.HK), on which we are bullish, can grow earnings per share at low double-digit rates over the long term. The core franchise—gaming, social networks, and advertising—remains highly durable. It is protected by network effects, deep user engagement, and an embedded merchant and payments ecosystem that competitors cannot easily replicate. We see AI as an incremental option on top of an already resilient core, with early signs of traction across products, including a WeChat agent opportunity that plays directly to Tencent's ecosystem strengths.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is the largest e-commerce company in China, operating the Taobao consumer marketplace and the Tmall branded-goods marketplace, alongside wholesale and international marketplaces and a cloud computing platform.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA), with over 1 billion annual active buyers and over 10 million merchants, benefits from the increased penetration of internet, mobile, and e-commerce in China. Alibaba is the largest player in e-commerce in China, and we expect it to remain a dominant force for years to come, though we acknowledge substantial low-priced competition. We increasingly view it as one of the best-positioned proxies for China’s AI supply chain, with a differentiated full-stack position across proprietary chips, cloud infrastructure, and leading models.

Bajaj Finance Limited (BAF.IN) is a leading non-banking financial company in India offering consumer durable financing, housing loans, small business credit, and other financial products. Its proprietary data analytics platform and large customer base support strong risk-adjusted returns.
Bajaj Finance Limited (BAF.IN) is well positioned to benefit from growing demand for consumer financial services in India. The company’s data analytics platform is a key competitive advantage, enabling high risk-adjusted returns; in our view, return on equity can be sustained at 20% to 22%. Bajaj is also building a broader digital ecosystem, with apps offering insurance, brokerage, wealth management, and other financial products. We expect Bajaj to compound earnings at roughly 25% annually over the next five years.

Divi's Laboratories Limited (DIVI.IN) is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical contract manufacturers and a global leader in several high-volume active pharmaceutical ingredients. Its custom synthesis business makes ingredients and intermediates for innovator drug companies.
Divi's Laboratories Limited (DIVI.IN) has built strong relationships with global innovators and leading pharmaceutical companies and plays a key role in the global pharmaceutical value chain. In our view, it is a key beneficiary of global supply chain realignment, as its customers diversify their API sourcing away from China. We are encouraged that Divi’s has been onboarded by large global customers into the oral GLP-1 and GLP-1 injectables value chain as a supplier of complex intermediates and custom-manufactured peptides, which provides multi-year revenue visibility.

ISC Co., Ltd. (095340.KS) is a South Korean manufacturer of semiconductor test sockets, which connect chips to testing equipment. ISC pioneered silicone rubber sockets and holds the leading share of that segment. It also supplies test equipment and materials. AI chips account for most of its sales.
ISC Co., Ltd. (095340.KS) benefits as AI chips get larger and faster, and legacy sockets built with spring-loaded metal pins struggle to test them reliably and affordably. ISC’s silicone rubber sockets deliver better signal performance at lower cost with less chip damage risk, and leading AI chipmakers are moving mass-production testing to them. Rubber sockets still hold a small share of the market, and we believe ISC has a long runway as customers convert. Sockets wear out and are replaced often, and we expect share gains and price increases to drive high earnings growth.

Grupo Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GMEXICOB) is a conglomerate with copper mining, rail, and infrastructure businesses in Mexico, Peru, and the U.S. Through its 89% stake in Southern Copper, it controls one of the largest, lowest-cost copper producers. It also owns GMXT, Mexico’s largest railroad operator. 
Grupo Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GMEXICOB) is a well-managed company trading at a meaningful discount to the sum of its parts. Its mines hold the largest copper reserves of any listed company and sit at the low end of the cost curve. Projects led by Tía María in Peru and Asarco expansions in the U.S. should lift copper production significantly. We are bullish on copper as electrification and grid investment drive demand, while declining ore grades and long lead times constrain supply. The railroad and infrastructure segments are smaller but have attractive long-term growth.

Piraeus Bank S.A. (TPEIR.GA) is a leading Greek bank providing retail banking, corporate banking, and financial markets services, with corporate lending that extends to shipping, agricultural, and small and medium-sized enterprise customers.
Piraeus Bank S.A. (TPEIR.GA) offers, we believe, attractive upside through accelerating loan growth, disciplined costs, and a strategy to increase fee income. Its acquisition of Ethniki Insurance broadens its product offering and creates opportunities to deepen customer relationships, reducing reliance on interest income. Improved asset quality and capital generation support growing shareholder distributions. We see scope for sustained mid-teens returns on tangible equity and believe the shares do not fully reflect the bank’s earnings power and capital return potential.