Baron Financials Strategy

Visa Inc. (V) operates a global payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, businesses, and governments. It processes transactions through authorization, clearing, and settlement and provides related value-added services.
Visa should benefit from consumer spending growth and the secular shift from cash to electronic payments, particularly outside the U.S., where digital adoption remains less mature. Its trusted brand, global acceptance network, and relationships with financial institutions create durable competitive advantages. Strong cash generation supports continued investment, dividends, and share repurchases.

Mastercard Incorporated (MA) operates a global payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, businesses, and governments. It processes transactions through authorization, clearing, and settlement and provides related value-added services.
We expect Mastercard to benefit from consumer spending growth and the secular shift from cash to electronic payments, particularly in markets where digital adoption remains relatively low. Its global acceptance network, trusted brand, and relationships with financial institutions create durable competitive advantages. Revenue growth and operating leverage should support margin expansion and strong free cash flow, enabling continued investment, acquisitions, dividends, and share repurchases.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is the largest U.S. bank by assets. It provides consumer and commercial banking, investment banking, payments, and asset and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and governments worldwide.
JPMorgan’s scale, technology, and broad product suite create durable competitive advantages and support strong through-cycle returns. We believe that growth should come from share gains in middle-market banking, wealth management, and payments, as well as productivity improvements from AI and other technology investments. Management’s disciplined capital allocation, prudent risk management, and consistent execution position the bank to compound earnings and tangible book value at attractive rates over time.

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) is one of the largest U.S. financial institutions, providing consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, investment banking, and markets services. It operates in the U.S. and more than 35 countries.
We expect Bank of America’s growth and returns to improve following years of balance sheet de-risking and pressure from low interest rates. Earnings should benefit from fixed-rate assets repricing at higher yields, loan and deposit growth, rising capital markets and wealth management fees, and positive operating leverage. Greater capital returns could provide additional upside and support management’s 16%-18% medium-term target for returns on tangible common equity. Its low-cost deposit base, scale, and technology capabilities provide durable competitive advantages.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) is a discount brokerage firm offering securities brokerage and other financial services to individual investors directly and through independent financial advisors. The company has over $13 trillion in assets under custody.
Schwab’s emphasis on customer trust has made it a sterling brand in financial services. We believe its investor services division is well positioned to take share from traditional brokerages, while its institutional business continues to gain RIA relationships. The company has made acquisitions that have broadened its product offering and brought new customers onto the platform. As a result, we expect Schwab to retain clients while further lowering its industry-leading cost per client asset.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) is an automated global electronic broker. The company provides low-cost execution, clearing, and settlement of trades for retail and institutional customers across multiple asset classes and currencies.
Interactive Brokers is gaining share due to its advanced technology, quality of execution, and low trading costs. We expect the company to continue growing rapidly through international expansion and as domestic RIAs depart traditional institutions to launch their own firms. Interactive Brokers' competitive advantage comes from automation through best-in-class software engineering, which enables it to offer industry-low costs to customers. Founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy is well regarded and is the company's largest shareholder.

Morgan Stanley (MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, sales and trading, wealth management, and investment management services. Its Wealth and Investment Management businesses have $10 trillion in client assets.
Morgan Stanley’s leading wealth management franchise should continue compounding through strong net new asset growth. Its Financial Advisor, Workplace, and E*TRADE channels—combined with its investment banking franchise—create a broad client-acquisition funnel and opportunities to deepen relationships across the firm. We expect this integrated model to support sustained growth in client assets and earnings, while increasing the contribution from more recurring revenue streams.

S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and financial data for investors, businesses, and governments worldwide.
S&P Global should benefit from long-term growth in rated debt issuance, the shift toward passive investing, and rising demand for data and analytics. Its leading brands, proprietary data, embedded workflows, and high switching costs create durable competitive advantages. Strong free cash flow supports continued investment, acquisitions, share repurchases, and dividends.

Moody's Corporation (MCO) provides credit ratings, financial intelligence, and analytical tools for investors, corporations, and governments worldwide.
Moody’s should benefit from long-term growth in debt issuance as global borrowing expands and capital markets gain share from bank lending. We expect Moody’s Analytics to deliver steady recurring growth through new sales, product enhancements, and pricing. Operating leverage and efficiency initiatives should support margin expansion. Strong free cash flow provides capacity for acquisitions, share repurchases, and dividends.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA) is the largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S., with over $2.4 trillion in Assets Under Management. It offers independent financial advisors the technology, brokerage services, and practice management support they need to run their own practices.
As advisors continue to break away from wirehouses, we believe LPL is an attractive home for them and will continue to win share in this market. The company is benefiting from the higher interest rate environment, as it earns interest on its assets. LPL leverages its economies of scale to generate healthy margins and free cash flow that it can reinvest into its business. With a profitable business, good growth prospects, and favorable industry tailwinds, we believe LPL is well positioned to continue growing earnings per share at a rapid rate.