PDD - Baron New Asia Fund Q1 2024 Shareholder Letter

2024-04-25 12:20:00 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.
• Baron New Asia Fund gained 6.36% (Institutional Shares) during the first quarter of 2024, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index was up 2.38%.
• We believe the recent strength in equities can be attributed to the Fed’s indication that while it may delay or moderate, it principally remains on course for multiple rate cuts during the current year.
• We continue to believe we are at or near an inflection point in relative performance that will favor developing world equities.
• We are researching several additional candidates, particularly as we believe investor focus is poised to shift from AI training to the broader and myriad beneficiaries of the implementation of AI inferencing.

Dear Baron New Asia Fund Shareholder:

Performance

Baron New Asia Fund ^® ( BNAIX , the Fund) gained 6.36% (Institutional Shares) during the first quarter of 2024, while its primary benchmark index, the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index (the Benchmark), was up 2.38%. The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan IMI Growth Index (the Proxy Benchmark) gained 2.75% for the quarter. The Fund notably outperformed the Benchmark and the Proxy Benchmark during the quarter, largely as a result of our significant exposure to and strong stock selection in India....

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