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Baron Small to Mid Cap Growth Strategy

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

Total Strategy Assets

$312.79 M

As of 03/31/2024

Inception date

06/30/1999

Performance

PerformanceAs of 03/31/2024

YTD11 Year3 Years5 Years10 yearsSince Inception
06/30/1999
Baron Small to Mid Cap Growth Strategy (Net)3.96%11.02%-1.38%15.94%12.22%9.80%
Baron Small to Mid Cap Growth Strategy (Gross)4.17%11.94%-0.63%16.85%13.07%10.70%
Russell 2500 Growth Index8.51%21.12%-0.81%9.39%9.56%8.11%
S&P 500 Index10.56%29.88%11.49%15.05%12.96%7.57%

Performance InformationAs of 03/31/2024

3 Years5 Years10 YearsSince Inception
Standard Deviation (%)22.0627.1721.4919.48
Sharpe Ratio-0.190.510.500.41
Alpha (%)-0.436.042.693.51
Beta0.961.081.010.76
R-Squared (%)88.8484.0984.8874.80
Tracking Error (%)7.4211.008.3611.10
Information Ratio-0.080.600.320.15
Upside Capture (%)97.76117.59104.5686.91
Downside Capture (%)99.77101.0495.2777.62
Except for Standard Deviation and Sharpe Ratio, the performance based-characteristics above were calculated relative to the Baron Small to Mid Cap 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 03/31/2024

HoldingSector% of Net Assets
CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial real estate industry.
CoStar has built a proprietary database through data collection over a 20-year period, creating high barriers to entry. We think CoStar's suite should grow at mid-teens rates, and we believe its Loopnet marketing platform can grow even faster. Its Apartments.com platform is the dominant multi-family internet listing service and should grow revenue by more than 20%. CoStar is starting to expand into residential, creating additional significant growth opportunities. Its balance sheet and cash generation create M&A optionality.
Real Estate10.0%
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) is a global hospitality company with 1,335 Hyatt-branded properties representing 322,141 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 buybacks and further tuck-in acquisitions and could result in multiple expansion over time.
Consumer Discretionary9.3%
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 rapidly through international production capacity and product expansion. We believe 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, insurance, and other AI use cases.
Consumer Discretionary9.1%
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. The company 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.
Financials8.1%
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 roughly $20 billion annually. The company has been taking market share and offering broader data sets and more advanced portfolio analytics than its competitors and has a highly regarded customer service model. FactSet has also been expanding into the fixed income and wealth management markets. Its 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.
Financials4.9%
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, ESG, 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 the index and multi-asset portfolio and risk analytics products are mission-critical and deeply embedded in client workflows.
Financials4.7%
Gartner, Inc.
Gartner, Inc. (IT) is the leading independent provider of research and advisory services for IT, HR, sales, finance, and marketing leaders.
Gartner has a vast addressable market, which management estimates exceeds $70 billion annually, implying a penetration rate of less than 3%. IT is rapidly changing and growing in strategic importance, leading users to turn to third-party providers for insight into trends. Gartner enjoys retention rates of more than 100%, driven by the low price of its research relative to value. We think consistent execution in Global Technology Sales and improvements in Global Business Sales will help accelerate Research growth into the low double digits.
Information Technology4.7%
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH) is one of the world's largest hotel franchisors, with brands in the economy, midscale, and upscale segments. Its contracts are long term, with many as long as 20 years. Brands include Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Cambria Suites, Ascend, Radisson, and Everhome.
Choice has a strong franchising business with recurring revenue. It has demonstrated consistent profitability across cycles through increased room prices, occupancy, and royalty rates as well as new unit growth. Choice has a solid pipeline of new hotel franchisee contracts in revenue- intense segments and is actively expanding the number of upscale brands in its portfolio. Choice recently added to its buyback program to 14% of outstanding shares.
Consumer Discretionary4.5%
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL) is a property and casualty insurer focused exclusively on the excess and surplus (E&S) lines market, which includes risks that are unique or difficult to place in the standard insurance market.
We believe Kinsale is a well-run insurer that should grow earnings and book value per share much faster than its peers. Its focus on the attractive E&S market, underwriting discipline, and efficient technology platform enable Kinsale to rapidly grow premiums while delivering industry-leading underwriting margins. Management is highly regarded and has decades of experience in the E&S market. We believe Kinsale has a long runway for growth in an attractive segment of the P&C insurance market.
Financials4.3%
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 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 Discretionary3.5%
Total
Total
63.1%
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 03/31/2024

Top ContributorsAverage WeightContribution
Hyatt Hotels Corporation8.55%1.82%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.7.74%1.76%
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.3.89%1.74%
CoStar Group, Inc.9.32%0.99%
Primerica, Inc.3.22%0.70%
Source:  FactSet PA.  Based on the gross performance results of the representative account. 

GICS Sector BreakdownAs of 03/31/2024

Portfolio Characteristics

Consumer Discretionary

36.3%

Financials

29.0%

Real Estate

14.2%

Information Technology

9.5%

Health Care

4.8%

Industrials

4.8%

Cash & Cash Equivalents

0.9%

Communication Services

0.5%

Sub-Industry
03/31/2024
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines14.40%
Property & Casualty Insurance12.50%
Financial Exchanges & Data11.60%
Real Estate Services 10.00%
Automobile Manufacturers9.10%
Application Software4.80%
IT Consulting & Other Services4.70%
Life Sciences Tools & Services4.60%
Casinos & Gaming4.20%
Leisure Facilities3.50%
Life & Health Insurance3.30%
Restaurants3.10%
Research & Consulting Services2.70%
Other Specialized REITs 2.60%
Aerospace & Defense2.10%
03691215
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines14.40%
Property & Casualty Insurance12.50%
Financial Exchanges & Data11.60%
Real Estate Services 10.00%
Automobile Manufacturers9.10%
Application Software4.80%
IT Consulting & Other Services4.70%
Life Sciences Tools & Services4.60%
Casinos & Gaming4.20%
Leisure Facilities3.50%
Life & Health Insurance3.30%
Restaurants3.10%
Research & Consulting Services2.70%
Other Specialized REITs 2.60%
Aerospace & Defense2.10%
03691215

Portfolio CharacteristicsAs of 03/31/2024

Baron Small to Mid Cap Growth StrategyRussell 2500 Growth Index
Inception DateJune 30, 1999
# of Issuers / % of Net Assets31 / 99.1%
Turnover (3 Year Average)6.89%
Active Share97.6%
Median Market Cap$12.51 billion$1.70 billion
Weighted Average Market Cap$73.27 billion$8.81 billion
EPS Growth (3-5 year forecast)10.9%15.0%
Price/Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-month)25.723.7
Price/Book Ratio4.24.6
Price/Sales Ratio3.62.0
Total Strategy Assets$312.79 million
Price/Book Ratio and Price/Sales Ratio are calculated using the Weighted Harmonic Average. Source: FactSet PA. Internal valuation metrics may differ.