
Baron Focused Growth Strategy
S-M
Small- to Mid-Cap GrowthTotal Strategy Assets
$3.42 B
As of 12/31/2025
Inception date
09/30/1996
Performance
PerformanceAs of 12/31/2025
| Portfolio or Index | QTD | YTD | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | Since Inception 09/30/1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baron Focused Growth Strategy (net) | 12.35% | 22.32% | 22.32% | 26.65% | 11.74% | 21.08% | 14.98% |
| Baron Focused Growth Strategy (gross) | 12.63% | 23.55% | 23.55% | 27.93% | 12.86% | 22.27% | 16.14% |
| Russell 2500 Growth Index | 0.33% | 10.31% | 10.31% | 14.32% | 2.98% | 10.55% | 8.55% |
| Russell 3000 Index | 2.40% | 17.15% | 17.15% | 22.25% | 13.15% | 14.29% | 10.05% |
Performance InformationAs of 12/31/2025
| Performance statistics | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | Since Inception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Deviation (%) | 17.35 | 20.70 | 24.22 | 22.65 |
| Sharpe Ratio | 1.25 | 0.41 | 0.78 | 0.56 |
| Alpha (%) | 15.62 | 9.44 | 11.06 | 8.01 |
| Beta | 0.70 | 0.85 | 0.95 | 0.83 |
| R-Squared (%) | 59.73 | 67.06 | 62.83 | 65.05 |
| Tracking Error (%) | 12.40 | 12.24 | 14.79 | 13.90 |
| Information Ratio | 0.99 | 0.72 | 0.71 | 0.46 |
| Upside Capture (%) | 81.41 | 91.72 | 110.24 | 97.60 |
| Downside Capture (%) | 18.73 | 60.26 | 73.04 | 74.62 |
Except for Standard Deviation and Sharpe Ratio, the performance based-characteristics above were calculated relative to the Baron Focused Growth Strategy's benchmark Russell 2500 Growth Index. Performance statistics for additional periods will be provided on request. Source FactSet: SPAR.
Portfolio Holdings & Characteristics
HoldingsAs of 01/31/2026
| Holding | Sector | % of Net Assets | |
|---|---|---|---|
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) designs, manufactures, and launches rockets, satellites, and spacecrafts. Its ultimate goal is to make humanity multi-planetary. Products include reusable orbital launch offerings and a broadband service leveraging its satellite constellation, Starlink. We believe SpaceX will continue to drive down the cost of space launches and capture market share with its unique, reliable, and improving reusable launch capabilities. As costs decline, we also expect demand for access to space to increase. By leveraging its launch cost leadership, vertical integration, and innovative design approach, SpaceX has an advantage in building and operating its rapidly expanding satellite-based broadband services, creating an even more attractive growth profile for the company. | Industrials | 18.8% | |
Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) manufactures electric vehicles including sedans, SUVs/CUVs, a pickup truck, and a semi-truck. The company is also ramping up internal battery cell production, energy solutions, robotics offerings such as full self-driving and humanoids, and renewable energy generation and storage solutions. We expect Tesla to continue growing its automotive business as it benefits from the secular adoption of electric vehicles, vertical integration, technological innovation, and cost advantages. The company is also leveraging its core automotive technologies to address the rapidly growing energy storage segment. In addition, Tesla's software and AI expertise is broadening the industrial opportunity to large and profitable revenue avenues that were previously locked in the legacy vehicle architecture, such as autonomous driving, robotics, insurance, and other AI use cases. | Consumer Discretionary | 7.6% | |
MSCI Inc. MSCI Inc. (MSCI) provides investment decision support tools to global investment institutions. We believe MSCI, the de facto standard for measuring global market performance, is positioned to benefit from the continuing development of emerging markets, passive investing, sustainability, and the growth of global financial assets. We believe the company's indexes remain the global standard for cross-border investing and will continue to be selected by institutions when issuing new mandates. Both its index and multi-asset portfolio and risk analytics products are mission critical and deeply embedded in client workflows. | Financials | 5.1% | |
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. 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. | Financials | 4.6% | |
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX) is the leading provider of diagnostics to the veterinary industry. IDEXX benefits from secular growth in pet-related spending driven by a strengthening human–animal bond, favorable demographics, increased use of diagnostics, and a greater focus on preventative care. We think IDEXX offers the best diagnostics menu in the industry, which it improves by investing significantly more in R&D each year than its competitors. Its products are sold through a razor-razorblade model, resulting in high customer retention and attractive incremental margins. IDEXX generates strong cash flow, which it has returned to shareholders via share repurchases. | Health Care | 4.6% | |
On Holding AG On Holding AG (ONON), a Swiss premium performance sports brand specializing in footwear (roughly 95% of revenue), is one of the fastest-growing scaled athletic wear companies in the world. The company was founded in 2010 and continues to gain market share in the athletic footwear category. On is an innovative lifestyle brand blending technical performance with fashion and lifestyle elements to deliver a lineup of footwear, apparel, and accessories. We believe On is still early in its lifecycle as it expands its product line and distribution network. On benefits from strong brand loyalty, its commitment to sustainability, a focus on innovation, and a highly complementary, multi-channel distribution strategy. The sportswear market is a $355 billion-and-growing opportunity, of which On has a small share, implying a long growth runway. | Consumer Discretionary | 4.1% | |
Hyatt Hotels Corporation Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) is a global hospitality company with 1,363 Hyatt-branded properties representing 326,845 keys. The company's brands include Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt Summerfield Suite. It derives 90% of EBITDA from fees and 10% from owned assets. We believe Hyatt has a significant opportunity to market more of its brands globally, given an undersupply of rooms across the world. Compared to peers, Hyatt has the lowest global brand penetration and the largest pipeline of unit growth. We believe its asset-light strategy and strong balance sheet, coupled with robust pricing for hotel assets, give Hyatt an opportunity to generate strong growth in earnings and cash flow, which the company could use for buybacks and tuck-in acquisitions. | Consumer Discretionary | 4.0% | |
Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) is the largest ski resort operator in North America. It owns 42 resorts in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and Australia, including Vail and Breckenridge in Colorado, Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, and Stowe in Vermont. Its RockResorts hotel brand offers luxury ski lodging properties. Vail has been upgrading its resorts to offer higher-quality services and amenities and summer recreational activities, which should attract more visitors. The company is also focused on growing season pass sales and has been acquiring resorts and forming partnerships to enhance the appeal of its season pass. We believe price increases for passes are unlikely to impact retention rates. Vail has a strong balance sheet and free cash flow profile that it is using for acquisitions, investments in its resorts, dividend increases, share buybacks, and debt reduction. | Consumer Discretionary | 4.0% | |
Spotify Technology S.A. Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) is the world's leading music streaming service, with approximately 40% market share. The company monetizes through several tiers of subscriptions, advertising, and miscellaneous a la carte pricing. With over 281 million paying subscribers, Spotify has created a two-sided marketplace where creators can monetize their work and consumers can stream music. Longer term, we expect the company to grow to over 1 billion subscribers (from 713 million today) and improve margins materially through advertising, its artist promotions marketplace, audiobooks, and improved cost discipline. We expect Spotify to continually improve its value proposition through additional features like video, and monetize this value through more optimized pricing tiers like Super Premium. | Communication Services | 3.8% | |
FactSet Research Systems Inc. FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) provides financial information to the global investment community. FactSet serves only a small part of the addressable market, which we estimate at over $20 billion annually. The company offers broader datasets and more advanced portfolio analytics than peers and has a highly regarded customer service model. FactSet has also been expanding into the fixed income and wealth management markets. The company's products are sticky, leading to retention rates of over 95% and high visibility. FactSet generates robust free cash flow, which it has returned to shareholders via share repurchases and dividends. | Financials | 3.7% | |
Total | 60.2% |
Top Ten Holdings, Portfolio Holdings, and Sector Breakdown based on net assets. Positions smaller than 0.05% round to 0.0%. Portfolio holdings may change over time.
Portfolio holdings are subject to change. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.
Portfolio holdings are subject to change. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk.
Contributors / DetractorsQuarterly as of 12/31/2025
| Top Contributors | Average Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | 13.96% | 11.15% |
| X.AI Holdings Corp. | 3.03% | 2.77% |
| FIGS, Inc. | 2.68% | 1.61% |
| Hyatt Hotels Corporation | 4.07% | 0.60% |
| On Holding AG | 4.45% | 0.55% |
Source: FactSet PA. Based on the gross performance results of the representative account.
GICS Sector BreakdownAs of 01/31/2026
Sector
Consumer Discretionary
36.5%
Industrials
22.2%
Financials
17.3%
Communication Services
8.5%
Information Technology
7.0%
Health Care
4.7%
Real Estate
2.9%
Cash & Cash Equivalents
0.9%
Sub-Industry
Aerospace & Defense18.80%
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines8.90%
Financial Exchanges & Data8.80%
Automobile Manufacturers7.60%
Footwear7.10%
Investment Banking & Brokerage6.00%
Casinos & Gaming5.10%
Movies & Entertainment4.90%
Health Care Equipment4.70%
Application Software4.50%
Leisure Facilities4.00%
Interactive Media & Services3.60%
Research & Consulting Services3.40%
Real Estate Services 2.90%
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods2.70%
048121620
Aerospace & Defense18.80%
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines8.90%
Financial Exchanges & Data8.80%
Automobile Manufacturers7.60%
Footwear7.10%
Investment Banking & Brokerage6.00%
Casinos & Gaming5.10%
Movies & Entertainment4.90%
Health Care Equipment4.70%
Application Software4.50%
Leisure Facilities4.00%
Interactive Media & Services3.60%
Research & Consulting Services3.40%
Real Estate Services 2.90%
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods2.70%
048121620
Portfolio CharacteristicsAs of 12/31/2025
| Description | Baron Focused Growth Strategy | Russell 2500 Growth Index |
|---|---|---|
| # of Issuers / % of Net Assets | 28/97.3% | |
| Turnover (3 Year Average) | 6.72% | |
| Active Share | 98.8% | |
| Median Market Cap | $24.48 billion | $1.64 billion |
| Weighted Average Market Cap | $321.12 billion | $9.07 billion |
| EPS Growth (3-5 year forecast) | 20.0% | 15.2% |
| Price/Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-month) | 31.3x | 24.3x |
| Price/Book Ratio | 6.8x | 4.4x |
| Price/Sales Ratio | 4.2x | 1.8x |
| Inception Date | September 30, 1996 | |
| Total Strategy Assets | $3.42 billion |
Price/Book Ratio and Price/Sales Ratio are calculated using the Weighted Harmonic Average. Source: FactSet PA. Internal valuation metrics may differ.