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Baron New Asia Fund

Symbol BNAIXCUSIP: 06828M595
Symbol BNAIXCUSIP: 06828M595
IN
International

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$9.26

Daily Change $0.01 (0.11%)
As of 06/28/2024

Net Assets

$4.64 M

As of 03/31/2024

Morningstar Medalist Rating™

medal Logo

BRONZE

Inception date

07/30/2021

Prices & Performance

PricesAs of 06/28/2024

NAVDaily Change ($)Daily Change (%)MTDQTDYTD
$9.26$0.010.11%6.56%10.77%17.81%
NAV$9.26
Daily Change ($)$0.01
Daily Change (%)0.11%
MTD6.56%
QTD10.77%
YTD17.81%

PerformanceAs of 03/31/2024

YTD11 YearSince Inception
07/30/2021
BNAIX - Baron New Asia Fund - I6.36%9.42%-6.50%
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index2.38%3.99%-6.17%
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan IMI Growth Index2.75%2.34%-8.79%

Portfolio Holdings & Characteristics

HoldingsAs of 05/31/2024

HoldingSector% of Net Assets
Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel Limited (BHARTI.IN) is a leading telecommunications company, with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The company's offerings include wireless, mobile commerce, and fixed line. 
Bharti is a top three player in the Indian telecommunications industry. With more than 30% market share, it is well positioned to benefit from rising smartphone penetration and 4G services in India. The company should continue to gain market share from Vodafone India, which is on the brink of bankruptcy and will likely need to raise mobile tariffs by more than 50% to remain a viable entity. We expect earnings to generate mid-teens growth over the next three to five years, with further upside from its broadband and enterprise businesses.
Communication Services7.6%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, manufacturing chips on behalf of other companies.
Taiwan Semiconductor remains the dominant force in leading edge semiconductor foundry manufacturing, as it benefits from economies of scale and a superior cost structure. Its successful track record of deploying new technology faster than competitors enables it to maintain its market share and pricing power. We believe Taiwan Semiconductor's investments in advanced nodes will solidify its superior market positioning and profitability in the long run.
Information Technology6.9%
Indus Towers Limited
Indus Towers Limited (INDUSTOW.IN) is a leading telecommunications tower operator in India. The tower industry is structured as a duopoly, with Indus and a key competitor accounting for about 60% of the market share.
Indus has been a prime beneficiary of ongoing industry consolidation and the rollout of 5G services by telecommunications providers. Given recent improvements in financial viability, Vodafone Idea (VI), a key customer of Indus, has resumed monthly payments and should be a re-rating catalyst for Indus’ stock. Additionally, Indus should benefit from VI’s planned 4G expansion and 5G rollout, which will drive tower additions, tenancy ratio improvement, operating leverage, and free cash generation. We expect Indus to deliver high-single-digit revenue growth and approximately 10% earnings growth over the next three to five years.
Communication Services4.4%
Tencent Holdings Limited
Tencent Holdings Limited (700.HK) is a leading internet service company and the top game developer in China. Its primary platforms include QQ for instant messaging, WeChat for mobile messaging, and Qzone for social networking.
We are bullish on Tencent's ability to grow EPS at low double-digit rates in the long term and meaningfully enter new markets like e-commerce with its massive distribution. Tencent benefits from virtuous network effects, and we think it has a long runway to monetize its large user base by pushing value-added services and advertising through its platforms. We believe online advertising and advances in generative AI, fintech, and international gaming will continue to drive growth as management executes to capture share in these large and growing markets.
Communication Services4.1%
Trent Limited
Backed by the Tata Group, Trent Limited (TRENT.IN) is a leading direct-to-consumer retailer in India that sells private label apparel through its retail chains. It reported $1 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2023 and operates over 600 Westside and Zudio stores across 150 cities in India.
Trent is a differentiated apparel company focused on product quality, a pricing strategy without promotion, and supply chain management, which translates into quality like-for-like (LFL) growth. The company is expanding its Zudio value fashion retail chain, and we estimate that Zudio store count could triple to more than 1,000 stores in the next five years. We believe double-digit LFL growth and store expansion could drive 25%-plus topline growth. Operating leverage and franchise growth should further aid margin expansion and drive 30%-plus EBITDA CAGR in the years ahead.
Consumer Discretionary4.1%
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS) is a Korean technology conglomerate known for its leadership in consumer electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Samsung is the bellwether for global technology innovation and continues to deliver robust earnings across memory, logic, display, and smartphones. We are confident Samsung can maintain its technology leadership for decades to come, given its strong research and development track record and ability to meet ever-changing global consumer demand.
Information Technology3.3%
Jio Financial Services Limited
Jio Financial Services Limited (JIOFIN.IN) is a non-banking financial company in India. It offers various financial products and services including loans, insurance, and payment solutions to individuals and small businesses.
We believe Jio Financial Services is well positioned to benefit from the growing demand for consumer and small business financial services in India. The company’s key competitive advantage is its parentage under Reliance Industries, which has the largest retail footprint in India. We view Jio Financial Services as a formidable market challenger in the non-banking financial company industry, and we think it should be able to drive share gain over the next three to five years by leveraging Reliance's broad customer network.
Financials3.2%
Zomato Limited
Zomato Limited (ZOMATO.IN) is India's leading food delivery platform, with roughly 50% market share. The company also has a classified advertising business. 
Zomato is well positioned to benefit from structural growth in online food delivery in India. The industry has become a duopoly between Swiggy and Zomato, which bodes well for future profitability and scale. In our view, the company should generate revenue growth of more than 40% over the next three to five years.   
Consumer Discretionary3.2%
Reliance Industries Limited
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL.IN) is India's leading conglomerate, with business interests that include oil refining, petrochemicals, media, telecommunications, and retail.
We believe Reliance is positioned to leverage its telecommunications network to transform into a digital services company, offering products such as video streaming, broadband, and e-commerce services. The company is also laying the groundwork to create an online marketplace that will connect over 12 million mom & pop retailers to over 400 million mobile and internet subscribers. We believe earnings will sustain high double-digit growth over the next three to five years.
Energy3.0%
Kaynes Technology India Limited
Kaynes Technology India Limited
Information Technology2.5%
Total
Total
42.4%
Top Ten Fund Holdings based on net assets. 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 03/31/2024

Top ContributorsAverage WeightContribution
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited9.04%2.56%
Jio Financial Services Limited3.27%1.41%
Zomato Limited3.26%1.23%
Bharti Airtel Limited5.52%1.22%
Trent Limited3.73%1.01%
Source: FactSet PA.

GICS Sector BreakdownAs of 05/31/2024

Portfolio Characteristics

Communication Services

19.9%

Information Technology

19.1%

Consumer Discretionary

18.2%

Financials

12.2%

Industrials

10.9%

Consumer Staples

5.3%

Health Care

3.5%

Cash & Cash Equivalents

3.5%

Energy

3.0%

Utilities

1.9%

Materials

1.2%

Real Estate

1.1%

05/31/2024
Semiconductors8.70%
Wireless Telecommunication Services7.60%
Integrated Telecommunication Services5.40%
Interactive Media & Services5.40%
Broadline Retail 4.30%
Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components 4.10%
Apparel Retail4.10%
Restaurants3.80%
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals3.30%
Diversified Financial Services 3.20%
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing3.00%
Consumer Finance2.80%
Personal Care Products 2.50%
Electronic Manufacturing Services2.50%
Diversified Banks2.20%
0246810
Semiconductors8.70%
Wireless Telecommunication Services7.60%
Integrated Telecommunication Services5.40%
Interactive Media & Services5.40%
Broadline Retail 4.30%
Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components 4.10%
Apparel Retail4.10%
Restaurants3.80%
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals3.30%
Diversified Financial Services 3.20%
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing3.00%
Consumer Finance2.80%
Personal Care Products 2.50%
Electronic Manufacturing Services2.50%
Diversified Banks2.20%
0246810
India57.70%
China16.60%
Taiwan8.80%
Korea8.10%
Japan2.30%
Hong Kong1.90%
Indonesia1.10%
0102030405060
India57.70%
China16.60%
Taiwan8.80%
Korea8.10%
Japan2.30%
Hong Kong1.90%
Indonesia1.10%
0102030405060

Portfolio CharacteristicsAs of 03/31/2024

Baron New Asia FundMSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index
Inception DateJuly 30, 2021
Net Assets$4.64 million
# of Issuers / % of Net Assets72 / 97.2%
Turnover (2 Year Average)47.92%
Active Share68.1%
Median Market Cap$16.61 billion$7.23 billion
Weighted Average Market Cap$127.47 billion$134.29 billion
Gross Expense Ratio6.93%
Net Expense Ratio1.20%
EPS Growth (3-5 year forecast)25.3%19.8%
Price/Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-month)31.015.2
Price/Book Ratio3.21.8
Price/Sales Ratio3.11.3
The Net Assets include all share classes combined.
Price/Book Ratio and Price/Sales Ratio are calculated using the Weighted Harmonic Average. Source: FactSet PA. Internal valuation metrics may differ.
Michael Kass - Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Anuj Aggarwal - Vice President, Portfolio Manager
Investor Series

Baron New Asia Fund: Targeting Long-Term Growth Opportunities in a Dynamic Region

Learn more about the investment approach for Baron New Asia Fund.