Growth Equity Specialists, Investing Beyond Expectations
For over 40 years, Baron Capital has captured the upside of progress by investing for the long term in businesses making meaningful economic impact.
Our Investment Approach
At Baron Capital, our entire organization is united in a single investment style and objective. We are long-term investors in secular growth businesses that are run by great management teams and offer durable competitive advantages.
Our Principles
With trust as the cornerstone of our Firm, our principles work to align the interests of, and ensure transparency between, our employees and clients.
We take our fiduciary responsibilities seriously.
If we treat our clients ethically and with respect, and we provide high quality services, we will be successful.
We maintain high ethical standards, when dealing with our clients, the companies in which we invest, our communities, our regulators, our competitors,
and our co-workers.
We are proud of our reputation for hard work, the quality of the individuals who work at our Firm, and the resultant quality of our investment research and asset management services.
Although our business would be adversely affected if we lost either, our reputation would be the more difficult to regain.
We do not allow personal trading of individual securities by our employees. We have written policies for addressing other conflicts.
Employee compensation is based on client success, and our employees invest in Baron Funds alongside Baron Fund shareholders.
Policies, procedures, and segregated functions are important for risk management, but our people and our culture are critical for monitoring and managing risk across the Firm.
Assets Under Management
Our History
Origins
Foundational Elements
Growing up in Asbury Park, a beach town in New Jersey, Ron Baron worked multiple part-time jobs to put himself through college. He graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Chemistry in 1965 and worked at Georgetown University as a teaching fellow in biochemistry.
Three years later, from 1966 to 1969, he worked at the U.S. Patent Office as a patent examiner, while attending George Washington University Law School. Despite his parents' desire for him to become a doctor, Ron moved to New York City in 1969 to pursue his dream of becoming a wall street analyst, and within four months, he landed his first analyst role.
The 1970s
Question Everything
From 1970 to 1982, Ron worked for several brokerage firms as an institutional securities analyst, selling research with his business partner. While his clients saw impressive short-term gains, with many recommended stocks doubling or tripling in value, his commission-based compensation incentivized selling before the full potential of these companies could be realized.
Looking back, Ron recognized a missed opportunity: holding exceptional growth companies for the long term could have yielded even greater returns. This realization became the cornerstone of the Baron Capital investment philosophy, emphasizing holding durable, competitively advantaged growth companies over the long-term.
The 1980s
Building the Foundation
Starting with a $100,000 initial book value and a cramped office barely larger than one of our present-day conference rooms, Ron Baron launched Baron Capital on March 16, 1982. He hired two additional employees that same year, including Susan Robbins, who would later become a senior research analyst and is still at the firm.
Baron Capital's vision for value-driven, long-term investing in small-cap companies quickly gained traction, earning Ron Baron the spotlight in publications like Barron's and the Wall Street Journal. This early recognition would prove pivotal in Baron Capital's journey to becoming a prominent force in the investment landscape.
The 1990s
Expansion During the Internet Era
Fueled by a historic bull market and the burgeoning Internet era, Baron Capital experienced explosive growth in client assets during the 1990s, reaching $100 million in assets under management (AUM) by 1992. Recognizing the potential of emerging sectors, Baron Capital continued to diversify by launching three new mutual funds in the subsequent eight years, specializing in small and mid-cap growth strategies. 1997 marked a year of personnel growth for the Firm.
The 2000s
Navigating Challenging Markets
In the wake of the dot-com bubble bursting, Baron Capital's assets under management (AUM) soared from $6.5 billion in 2002 to over $17 billion by 2006, propelling founder Ron Baron onto the Forbes 400 in 2007. However, the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) posed significant challenges for the investment management industry, including Baron Capital. Rather than succumbing to layoffs like many other firms, Baron Capital saw the crisis as an opportunity to innovate and serve their clients. The firm channeled its focus into launching new investment strategies and continued hiring, training, and retaining employees.
The 2010s
Global Scale and New Capabilities
In the early part of the decade, Baron Capital expanded beyond its small- and mid-cap growth focus to meet evolving investor needs. This diversification included new products, services, and a significant investment in its workforce. From 2006 to 2012, staff doubled (from 57 to 114), and assets under management reached $23 billion by 2016. The firm extended its reach with strategies for international markets and specialized sectors like REITs, health care, and financial technology.
The latter half of the decade witnessed sustained growth and a deepening commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. These strategic initiatives solidified Baron Capital's dynamic evolution, establishing it as a diverse and thriving asset management firm throughout the 2010s.
The 2020s
Own It
Growing for over four decades, Baron Capital continues to expand its global capabilities by delivering innovative growth equity solutions for institutions, financial professionals, and individual investors around the globe. Our team of hardworking, talented, mission-driven employees embody our client-centric values and drive our differentiated investment process. We consistently invest in our people and business to keep clients at the heart of everything we do.
Top Performance Since Inception
All data as of 03/31/2024. Additional Baron Funds performance data can be found here.
96.7%
of Baron Funds’® AUM, have outperformed their respective benchmarks.
94.6%
of Baron Funds'® AUM, rank in the top 20% of their respective categories.
70.7%
of Baron Funds'® AUM, rank in the top 5% of their respective categories.
45.7%
of Baron Funds'® AUM, rank in the top 1% of their respective categories.
Meet Our People
Like the companies in which we invest, we look for people with integrity who are smart and experienced in their field. Our people have the tenacity and confidence to deliver on long-term success.
Thoughts from Our People
The reason we have long-tenured analysts and executives? We hire the best...those we judge to be the most talented...and best educated...and provide them with an incredible environment in which to work. That includes access to among the most interesting and talented executives of public companies...while working alongside other exceptional Baron individuals.
Latest News and Insights
Latest News and Insights
Our ESG Policies
ESG Integration Into Our Research Process
The assessment of ESG principles is a natural part of the Baron Capital research process and investment approach. We have long sought to find growth companies with sustainable competitive advantages, and we recognize the importance ESG factors and risks play in the long-term success that we seek.
We believe that well managed companies are run by great people who seek to minimize risks and maximize their ability to capitalize on growth opportunities, while being good stewards of capital, good corporate citizens, and benefiting all stakeholders.
Impact investing and/or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) managers may take into consideration factors beyond traditional financial information to select securities, which could result in relative investment performance deviating from other strategies or broad market benchmarks, depending on whether such sectors or investments are in or out of favor in the market. Further, ESG strategies may rely on certain values based criteria to eliminate exposures found in similar strategies or broad market benchmarks, which could also result in relative investment performance deviating.
People Make the Difference
