SKIN - Baron Discovery Fund Q4 2023 Quarterly Letter

2024-01-30 20:00:00 ET

Summary

• Baron is an asset management firm focused on delivering growth equity investment solutions known for a long-term, fundamental, active approach to growth investing.
• This past year was incredibly challenging but Baron Discovery Fund returned 22.58% in 2023, which was 3.92% better than the 18.66% return of the Russell 2000 Growth Index.
• We believe that 2024 will be the year of small caps, as relative valuations return to more normalized levels, with small caps garnering bigger multiples than large caps.

Dear Baron Discovery Fund Shareholder:

Performance

This past year was incredibly challenging but Baron Discovery Fund® ([[BDFFX]], [[BDFIX]], [[BDFUX]]) (the Fund) returned 22.58% (Institutional Shares) in 2023, which was 3.92% better than the 18.66% return of the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Index). In the fourth quarter, the Fund returned 12.44%, 0.31% less than the Index. Since inception, investors in the Fund have more than tripled their money and have earned an annualized return of 12.42%, or 4.62% better than the Index when including fees . Beating the market in any given quarter is random. Beating it consistently over longer time periods requires patience, judgment, and experience....

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