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Baron Focused Growth Strategy

Symbol FOCUSGROWTH
S-M
Small- to Mid-Cap Growth

Total Strategy Assets

$1.41 B

As of 09/30/2024

Inception date

09/30/1996

Performance

PerformanceAs of 06/30/2024

Portfolio or IndexQTDYTD1 Year3 Years5 Years10 YearsSince Inception 09/30/1996
Baron Focused Growth Strategy (Net)-1.50%5.52%2.75%23.32%15.57%14.00%
Baron Focused Growth Strategy (Gross)-2.01%6.58%3.78%24.56%16.70%15.14%
Russell 2500 Growth Index-3.93%9.02%-4.11%7.58%8.77%8.28%
Russell 3000 Index-13.56%23.13%8.05%14.14%12.15%9.65%

Performance InformationAs of 06/30/2024

Performance statistics3 Years5 Years10 YearsSince Inception
Standard Deviation (%)23.0330.5023.9922.91
Sharpe Ratio-0.020.690.590.52
Alpha (%)7.2315.547.167.22
Beta0.941.111.000.84
R-Squared (%)78.8369.0667.3466.15
Tracking Error (%)10.6917.1413.7113.80
Information Ratio0.640.920.500.41
Upside Capture (%)101.26132.55111.2798.44
Downside Capture (%)80.1089.7287.8378.44
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 09/30/2024

HoldingSector% of Net Assets
Tesla, Inc.
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) manufactures electric vehicles, including a luxury sedan and CUV (S/X), a mid-sized luxury sedan and hatchback (3/Y), and pickup and semi-trucks. It is also ramping up internal battery cell production, energy solutions, and software offerings such as full self-driving and insurance.
We expect Tesla will continue to grow its automotive business through international production capacity and product expansion. Tesla's vertical integration, technology innovation, brand, profitability, and growing supplier support offer unique and durable growth opportunities that are hard to replicate. In addition, Tesla's energy and software 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 Discretionary9.8%
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, we think SpaceX will have an advantage in building and operating its rapidly expanding satellite-based broadband services, creating an even more attractive growth profile for the company.
Industrials8.8%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.
Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) is a Bermuda-based insurance company providing property & casualty insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance.
Arch is led by an experienced management team with a successful track record across insurance cycles. The company excels at underwriting specialized policies and can nimbly shift its business mix to target the most profitable lines as market conditions change. It operates in a large global market and is currently benefiting from favorable pricing trends across many of its product lines. In our view, management has demonstrated strong underwriting discipline and capital stewardship, allowing Arch to maintain industry-leading returns on equity with less volatility.
Financials6.1%
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 246 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 one billion total subscribers (from 626 million today) and improve margins materially through advertising, its artist promotions marketplace, and improved cost discipline. On the product side, we expect Spotify to continually improve its value proposition through additional features and expansion into adjacencies such as audiobooks.
Communication Services5.9%
Guidewire Software, Inc.
Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE) is a leading provider of core systems software to the global P&C insurance industry.
Guidewire is a small player in a vast addressable market and has been benefiting from the inevitable need for P&C insurers to upgrade 30-year-old systems. The company offers best-in-class functionality, as evidenced by its growing installed base and near-100% retention rates. The company has passed the midpoint of its cloud transition, and we expect to see accelerating revenue, expanding margins, and improving FCF over the next several years. We believe that recent M&A in the vertical software space supports a meaningful value creation opportunity for shareholders.
Information Technology5.9%
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 and fashion/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 Discretionary4.7%
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) is a global hospitality company with 1,352 Hyatt-branded properties representing 325,507 keys. The company's brands include Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt Summerfield Suite. It derives 85% of EBITDA from fees and 15% 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 least global brand penetration and the largest pipeline of unit growth. We believe its asset light strategy and strong balance sheet, coupled with continued robust pricing for hotel assets, give Hyatt an opportunity to generate strong growth in earnings and cash flow. The resulting increased cash could be used for further buybacks and tuck-in acquisitions and could result in multiple expansion over time.
Consumer Discretionary4.6%
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) is an automated global electronic broker. It 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 because of 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.
Financials4.6%
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 new and higher-quality services and amenities and summer recreational activities, which should attract more visitors. Vail is focused on growing season pass sales and has been acquiring resorts and forming partnerships to enhance the attractiveness of its season pass. We think price increases for season passes should not impact retention rates. The company 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 Discretionary4.2%
Red Rock Resorts, Inc.
Red Rock Resorts, Inc. (RRR) owns and operates 20 local casinos in Las Vegas and is in the planning stages of developing and managing a tribal casino in California. It also controls seven gaming-entitled sites consisting of almost 600 acres in Las Vegas and 30 acres in Reno.
The company operates in the improving Las Vegas locals gaming market, which is now back to previous peak levels. We think the market is attractive, given favorable fundamentals including population growth 2.7 times the national average and $20 billion of development projects either in the planning stages or under development. The market also offers the lowest tax rate in the U.S., with limitations on the development of new casinos in the region. Red Rock also has the option to develop or sell its owned acreage.
Consumer Discretionary3.6%
Total
Total
58.2%
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.

Contributors / DetractorsQuarterly as of 06/30/2024

Top ContributorsAverage WeightContribution
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.9.36%1.42%
Spotify Technology S.A.5.80%0.98%
Tesla, Inc.7.90%0.98%
Guidewire Software, Inc.4.66%0.85%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.6.45%0.60%
Source:  FactSet PA.  Based on the gross performance results of the representative account. 

GICS Sector BreakdownAs of 09/30/2024

Sector

Consumer Discretionary

40.2%

Financials

18.3%

Information Technology

12.2%

Industrials

11.5%

Communication Services

7.3%

Real Estate

5.3%

Health Care

3.1%

Cash & Cash Equivalents

2.1%

Sub-Industry

09/30/2024
Automobile Manufacturers9.80%
Application Software8.90%
Aerospace & Defense8.80%
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines8.80%
Footwear6.70%
Financial Exchanges & Data6.70%
Property & Casualty Insurance6.10%
Movies & Entertainment5.90%
Investment Banking & Brokerage5.50%
Casinos & Gaming4.80%
Leisure Facilities4.20%
Internet Services & Infrastructure3.30%
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods3.30%
Real Estate Services 3.20%
Research & Consulting Services2.60%
0246810
Automobile Manufacturers9.80%
Application Software8.90%
Aerospace & Defense8.80%
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines8.80%
Footwear6.70%
Financial Exchanges & Data6.70%
Property & Casualty Insurance6.10%
Movies & Entertainment5.90%
Investment Banking & Brokerage5.50%
Casinos & Gaming4.80%
Leisure Facilities4.20%
Internet Services & Infrastructure3.30%
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods3.30%
Real Estate Services 3.20%
Research & Consulting Services2.60%
0246810

Portfolio CharacteristicsAs of 06/30/2024

DescriptionBaron Focused Growth StrategyRussell 2500 Growth Index
Inception DateSeptember 30, 1996
# of Issuers / % of Net Assets29 / 98.5%
Turnover (3 Year Average)22.52%
Active Share98.8%
Median Market Cap$16.63 billion$1.61 billion
Weighted Average Market Cap$97.23 billion$8.33 billion
EPS Growth (3-5 year forecast)26.7%17.8%
Price/Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-month)25.821.2
Price/Book Ratio4.14.3
Price/Sales Ratio3.61.9
Total Strategy Assets$1.41 billion
Price/Book Ratio and Price/Sales Ratio are calculated using the Weighted Harmonic Average. Source: FactSet PA. Internal valuation metrics may differ.