Baron Real Estate Strategy

Welltower Inc. (WELL) is a $70 billion diversified health care owner and manager of senior housing, including assisted and independent living. Core to its strategy is to partner with top-tier operators and health systems while providing operators access to its proprietary data analytics platform.
We are optimistic about the prospects for Welltower given the substantial opportunity for cyclical recovery and continued secular growth in its senior housing business through occupancy and rent growth. The company also benefits from its proven ability to recycle capital at attractive rates of returns, premier health care platform, partnerships with top-tier operators, and well-respected management team focused solely on creating value on a per-share basis.

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) is a network-neutral operator of more than 270 data centers in 70-plus metro areas across over 30 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It offers highly reliable facilities and low-latency interconnection among enterprises, networks, and cloud service providers.
Equinix benefits from several long-term secular trends, including increasing internet traffic, IT outsourcing, cloud computing, AI, and mobility. As data and customer needs become more global, Equinix should be able to leverage its leading global data center platform. We believe Equinix can continue to grow through new data center development, rent increases, and the addition of value-added services supplemented by accretive acquisitions that increase market penetration and reach.

Prologis, Inc. (PLD) is the world's largest industrial REIT, with a $100 billion global portfolio. 
In our view, industrial real estate has attractive fundamentals over the next several years, with organic growth among the highest across all real estate asset types. Stabilizing demand—driven by the growth of e-commerce, inventory building, and the need for infill locations to service last-mile delivery—should help absorb a sharp decline in new supply deliveries. We believe Prologis is well positioned to benefit from this favorable fundamental backdrop, supported by its strong assets, markets, management, and balance sheet.

Brookfield Corporation (BN) is one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, with $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and more than $500 billion in fee-generating AUM. It owns stakes in several publicly listed affiliates as well as other unlisted investments.
Brookfield Corporation's stake in listed companies, including Brookfield Infrastructure, Business Partners, Renewable Partners, and recently spun off Brookfield Asset Management, is worth $33 per share. We see another $16 per share in unlisted investments and $8 per share in carried interest generated for a total of $50 per share, based solely on current, in-place earnings. We think the company will profit from growth in alternative asset management, given its superior track record, highly respected CEO, global reach, scale, and diverse product offerings.

Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is a leading high-end, luxury homebuilder that caters to move-up, empty-nester, active-adult, age-qualified, and second-home buyers in 24 states in the U.S.
New single-family home construction activity in the U.S. remains below the levels needed to meet current and pent-up demand following a decade of underbuilding. We expect single-family home construction activity to continue over the medium term. In our view, Toll Brothers is a differentiated homebuilder with a niche focus on high-end homes and an excellent management team. We think Toll Brothers is well positioned to benefit from housing growth through its sizable land bank, healthy balance sheet, and market share gains against smaller players.

CRH public limited company is the largest building materials company in North America and Europe. It supplies aggregates, cement, asphalt, and concrete for construction projects including roads, highways, bridges, and buildings, as well as products for critical utility infrastructure and outdoor living.
CRH is a high-quality construction materials business with a consistent track record of double-digit earnings growth, driven by exposure to attractive, geographically diversified markets in the U.S. and Europe, a vertically integrated model, and operational excellence that has delivered 11 consecutive years of margin expansion. Following its recent relisting on the NYSE, which shifted its investor base toward the U.S., we believe CRH remains in the middle of a valuation re-rating with further upside potential from current levels.

Airbnb, Inc.

The Macerich Company (MAC) is a REIT that owns a high-quality portfolio of mall properties, primarily in California, New York, and Arizona.
Macerich should benefit from favorable real estate fundamentals for high-quality, well-located retail properties, with tenant demand exceeding available space and generating rent growth. The recent appointment of a new CEO to lead Macerich through a multi-year business transformation should also help simplify the company’s portfolio, reduce debt, and improve growth prospects. We believe the stock is undervalued and a successful conversion will result in a higher valuation multiple over time.

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.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) is the world's second largest hotel company, with 7,500 properties and 1.2 million rooms across 123 countries. Hilton has 22 brands, including its flagship Hilton, Conrad, and Waldorf brands, across urban, convention, and resort destinations with high barriers to entry.
Hilton executed on its plan to unlock shareholder value by separating into three companies in 2017. The remaining company is largely an asset-light fee business with 90% of management fees derived from top-line revenues. In our view, Hilton has a strong runway to grow its fee base with a pipeline of 460,000 rooms, 180 million loyalty members, and industry-leading brands. Hilton uses its substantial cash flow to consistently return capital to shareholders via stock buybacks and a modest dividend payout as an additional lever.