Overview

Objective & Strategy

S-M

This is a focused Fund that invests mainly in small- and mid-sized U.S. companies with significant growth potential. A substantial percentage of the Fund's assets are in its top 10 holdings. Non-diversified.

Fund Facts

BFGIX Snapshot

As of Sep 27, 2021

NAV $47.79
Daily Change ($) $0.30
Daily Change (%) 0.63%
YTD 10.48%
Inception Date 5/31/1996

Fund Highlights

Morningstar Rating™

Overall (out of 548 Funds)

Morningstar 5 stars

Ratings based on risk-adjusted returns as of 08/31/2021
Category:US Fund Mid-Cap Growth

Equity Style

BFGIX Portfolio Management

Ron Baron

Portfolio Manager

years of exp 51

years at baron 39

David Baron

Portfolio Manager

years of exp 19

years at baron 16

For the period ended 8/31/2021, the Baron Focused Growth Fund received a 5-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™, 5-Star 3-Year Rating, 5-Star 5-Year Rating, and 5-Star 10-Year Rating. The Morningstar Ratings are based on the Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measures of 548, 548, 490, and 384 funds in the category, respectively. This Morningstar Rating is for the Institutional share class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10- year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.

Morningstar classifies funds as being large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap based on the market capitalization of the fund’s stock holdings; and as value, blend, or growth based on the value-growth orientation of the stock holdings. The nine possible combinations of these characteristics correspond to the nine squares of the Morningstar Style Box–size is displayed along the vertical axis and style is displayed along the horizontal axis. Please note that the style boxes indicate the Fund’s equity style, not necessarily its Morningstar Category.

© 2021 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Prices & Performance: Baron Focused Growth Fund (BFGIX)

Prices

as of 09/27/21

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NAV Daily Change ($) Daily Change (%) MTD QTD YTD
$47.79 $0.30 0.63% 3.23% 7.75% 10.48%

Performance

as of 06/30/21

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QTD1 YTD1 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Since Inception Expense Ratio2
Gross Net
BFGIX - Baron Focused Growth Fund - I 2.42% 2.54% 95.00% 39.58% 31.55% 18.44% 14.48% 1.07% 1.07%
Russell 2500 Growth Index 6.04% 8.67% 49.63% 20.15% 20.68% 14.83% 9.59%
S&P 500 Index 8.55% 15.25% 40.79% 18.67% 17.65% 14.84% 9.74%

1Not annualized.

2Expense ratios are as of the fiscal year ended 12/31/2020

Performance reflects the actual fees and expenses that were charged when the Fund was a partnership.  The predecessor partnership charged a 15% performance fee through 2003 after reaching a certain performance benchmark. If the annual returns for the Fund did not reflect the performance fees for the years the predecessor partnership charged a performance fee, the returns would be higher. The Fund’s shareholders will not be charged a performance fee. The predecessor partnership’s performance is only for periods before the Fund’s registration statement was effective, which was June 30, 2008. During those periods, the predecessor partnership was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and was not subject to its requirements or the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code relating to registered investment companies, which, if it were, might have adversely affected its performance.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Adviser reimburses certain Baron Fund expenses pursuant to a contract expiring on August 29, 2031, unless renewed for another 11-year term and the Fund's transfer agency expenses may be reduced by expense offsets from an unaffiliated transfer agent, without which performance would have been lower. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to 5/29/2009, is based on the performance of the Retail Shares, which have a distribution fee. The Institutional Shares do not have a distribution fee. If the annual returns prior to 5/29/2009, did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.

Performance Characteristics: BFGIX

as of 06/30/21

3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Since Inception
Standard Deviation (%) 33.83 26.93 21.96 22.73
Sharpe Ratio 1.13 1.13 0.81 0.55
Alpha (%) 16.67 9.54 4.22 6.76
Beta 1.10 1.05 0.98 0.82
R-Squared (%) 62.96 59.26 65.14 64.92
Tracking Error (%) 20.74 17.22 12.97 14.04
Information Ratio 0.94 0.63 0.28 0.35
Upside Capture (%) 138.05 123.54 104.53 97.02
Downside Capture (%) 101.87 96.37 90.06 79.15

Except for Standard Deviation and Sharpe Ratio, the performance based-characteristics above were calculated relative to the Baron Focused Growth Fund's(BFGIX) benchmark (Russell 2500 Growth Index). Performance statistics for additional periods will be provided on request. Source FactSet: SPAR.

NAV $47.79
Daily Change ($) $0.30
Daily Change (%) $0.30
MTD 3.23%
QTD 7.75%
YTD 10.48%
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BFGIX - Baron Focused Growth Fund - I Russell 2500 Growth Index S&P 500 Index
QTD1 4.38% 0.28% 5.49%
YTD1 7.02% 8.98% 21.58%
1 Year 35.30% 36.14% 31.17%
3 Years 38.28% 16.94% 18.07%
5 Years 31.61% 19.20% 18.02%
10 Years 19.95% 16.31% 16.34%
Since Inception 14.57% 9.54% 9.91%
Expense Ratio2 - Gross 1.07%
Expense Ratio2 - Net 1.07%

*As of 08/31/21

*Annualized as of 08/31/21

1Not annualized.

2Expense ratios are as of the fiscal year ended 12/31/2020

Performance reflects the actual fees and expenses that were charged when the Fund was a partnership.  The predecessor partnership charged a 15% performance fee through 2003 after reaching a certain performance benchmark. If the annual returns for the Fund did not reflect the performance fees for the years the predecessor partnership charged a performance fee, the returns would be higher. The Fund’s shareholders will not be charged a performance fee. The predecessor partnership’s performance is only for periods before the Fund’s registration statement was effective, which was June 30, 2008. During those periods, the predecessor partnership was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and was not subject to its requirements or the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code relating to registered investment companies, which, if it were, might have adversely affected its performance.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Adviser reimburses certain Baron Fund expenses pursuant to a contract expiring on August 29, 2031, unless renewed for another 11-year term and the Fund's transfer agency expenses may be reduced by expense offsets from an unaffiliated transfer agent, without which performance would have been lower. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to 5/29/2009, is based on the performance of the Retail Shares, which have a distribution fee. The Institutional Shares do not have a distribution fee. If the annual returns prior to 5/29/2009, did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.

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BFGIX - Baron Focused Growth Fund - I Russell 2500 Growth Index S&P 500 Index
QTD1 2.42% 6.04% 8.55%
YTD1 2.54% 8.67% 15.25%
1 Year 95.00% 49.63% 40.79%
3 Years 39.58% 20.15% 18.67%
5 Years 31.55% 20.68% 17.65%
10 Years 18.44% 14.83% 14.84%
Since Inception 14.48% 9.59% 9.74%
Expense Ratio2 - Gross 1.07%
Expense Ratio2 - Net 1.07%

*As of 06/30/21

*Annualized as of 08/31/21

1Not annualized.

2Expense ratios are as of the fiscal year ended 12/31/2020

Performance reflects the actual fees and expenses that were charged when the Fund was a partnership.  The predecessor partnership charged a 15% performance fee through 2003 after reaching a certain performance benchmark. If the annual returns for the Fund did not reflect the performance fees for the years the predecessor partnership charged a performance fee, the returns would be higher. The Fund’s shareholders will not be charged a performance fee. The predecessor partnership’s performance is only for periods before the Fund’s registration statement was effective, which was June 30, 2008. During those periods, the predecessor partnership was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and was not subject to its requirements or the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code relating to registered investment companies, which, if it were, might have adversely affected its performance.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Adviser reimburses certain Baron Fund expenses pursuant to a contract expiring on August 29, 2031, unless renewed for another 11-year term and the Fund's transfer agency expenses may be reduced by expense offsets from an unaffiliated transfer agent, without which performance would have been lower. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to 5/29/2009, is based on the performance of the Retail Shares, which have a distribution fee. The Institutional Shares do not have a distribution fee. If the annual returns prior to 5/29/2009, did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.

as of 06/30/21

3 Years 5 Years 10 Years Since Inception
Standard Deviation (%) 33.83 26.93 21.96 22.73
Sharpe Ratio 1.13 1.13 0.81 0.55
Alpha (%) 16.67 9.54 4.22 6.76
Beta 1.10 1.05 0.98 0.82
R-Squared (%) 62.96 59.26 65.14 64.92
Tracking Error (%) 20.74 17.22 12.97 14.04
Information Ratio 0.94 0.63 0.28 0.35
Upside Capture (%) 138.05 123.54 104.53 97.02
Downside Capture (%) 101.87 96.37 90.06 79.15

Except for Standard Deviation and Sharpe Ratio, the performance based-characteristics above were calculated relative to the Baron Focused Growth Fund's(BFGIX) benchmark (Russell 2500 Growth Index). Performance statistics for additional periods will be provided on request. Source FactSet: SPAR.

as of 08/31/21

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Year Baron Focused Growth Fund Russell 2500 Growth Index S&P 500 Index
2020 122.75% 40.47% 18.40%
2019 30.33% 32.65% 31.49%
2018 4.07% -7.47% -4.38%
2017 26.59% 24.46% 21.83%
2016 0.97% 9.73% 11.96%
2015 -2.12% -0.19% 1.38%
2014 2.54% 7.05% 13.69%
2013 26.09% 40.65% 32.39%
2012 16.17% 16.13% 16.00%
2011 -1.11% -1.57% 2.11%
2010 25.39% 28.86% 15.06%
2009 33.94% 41.66% 26.46%
2008 -39.06% -41.50% -37.00%
2007 15.25% 9.69% 5.49%
2006 26.63% 12.26% 15.79%
2005 4.51% 8.17% 4.91%
2004 50.24% 14.59% 10.88%
2003 40.01% 46.32% 28.68%
2002 -8.44% -29.09% -22.06%
2001 -24.33% -10.83% -11.93%
2000 -6.00% -16.09% -9.10%
1999 19.87% 55.48% 21.04%
1998 36.17% 3.10% 28.58%
1997 38.38% 14.76% 33.36%
1996 6.83% -2.81% 12.11%

1Not annualized.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate; an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. The Adviser reimburses certain Baron Fund expenses pursuant to a contract expiring on August 29, 2031, unless renewed for another 11-year term and the Fund's transfer agency expenses may be reduced by expense offsets from an unaffiliated transfer agent, without which performance would have been lower. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Performance reflects the actual fees and expenses that were charged when the Fund was a partnership.  The predecessor partnership charged a 15% performance fee through 2003 after reaching a certain performance benchmark. If the annual returns for the Fund did not reflect the performance fees for the years the predecessor partnership charged a performance fee, the returns would be higher. The Fund’s shareholders will not be charged a performance fee. The predecessor partnership’s performance is only for periods before the Fund’s registration statement was effective, which was June 30, 2008. During those periods, the predecessor partnership was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and was not subject to its requirements or the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code relating to registered investment companies, which, if it were, might have adversely affected its performance.

Expense ratios are as of the fiscal year ended 12/31/2020

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to 5/29/2009, is based on the performance of the Retail Shares, which have a distribution fee. The Institutional Shares do not have a distribution fee. If the annual returns prior to 5/29/2009, did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.

Record Date 09/22/2021 11/23/2020 09/23/2020 11/25/2019 09/24/2018 11/27/2017 09/27/2017 11/28/2016 10/05/2016 12/02/2015 09/23/2015 12/01/2014 09/22/2014 09/25/2013 12/13/2010 12/28/2009 12/19/2008
Ex Date 09/23/2021 11/24/2020 09/24/2020 11/26/2019 09/25/2018 11/28/2017 09/28/2017 11/29/2016 10/06/2016 12/03/2015 09/24/2015 12/02/2014 09/23/2014 09/26/2013 12/14/2010 12/29/2009 12/22/2008
Payable Date 09/24/2021 11/25/2020 09/25/2020 11/27/2019 09/26/2018 11/29/2017 09/29/2017 11/30/2016 10/07/2016 12/04/2015 09/25/2015 12/03/2014 09/24/2014 09/27/2013 12/15/2010 12/30/2009 12/23/2008
Income $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0020 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0581 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.1983 $0.3260 $0.1260 $0.0000
Return of Capital $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.1250 $0.4000
Short-Term Capital Gain $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000
Long-Term Capital Gain $1.4145 $0.9837 $0.2541 $0.3590 $0.1693 $0.1646 $0.1598 $0.1820 $0.5658 $0.2567 $0.4816 $0.0741 $0.0119 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000 $0.0000
Total $1.4145 $0.9837 $0.2541 $0.3590 $0.1693 $0.1646 $0.1618 $0.1820 $0.5658 $0.2567 $0.5397 $0.0741 $0.0119 $0.1983 $0.3260 $0.2510 $0.4000
Re-Invest NAV $38.92 $32.63 $19.62 $18.54 $16.01 $15.25 $12.43 $12.86 $13.37 $13.00 $13.91 $13.97 $13.21 $9.50 $8.25 $5.98
Calendar-Yr Return 4.07% 26.59% 26.59% 0.97% 0.97% -2.12% -2.12% 2.54% 2.54% 26.09% 25.39% 33.94% -39.06%

Portfolio Characteristics

as of 06/30/21

Baron Focused Growth Fund Russell 2500 Growth Index
Net Assets$689.65 million
# of Equity Securities / % of Net Assets23 / 95.2%
Turnover (3 Year Average)9.66%
Active Share98.2%
Median Market Cap$11.96 billion$2.01 billion
Weighted Average Market Cap$233.02 billion$7.42 billion
EPS Growth (3-5 year forecast)45.7%22.3%
Price/Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-month)42.530.5
Price/Book Ratio4.66.2
Price/Sales Ratio7.72.8

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.

Contributors/Detractors

Quarterly as of 06/30/21

Top Contributors Average Weight Contribution
BioNTech SE 2.98% 1.76%
Figs Inc. 0.60% 0.86%
Vail Resorts, Inc. 6.34% 0.50%
Denali Therapeutics Inc. 1.06% 0.43%
Tesla, Inc. 31.02% 0.38%

Source: FactSet PA.

Insights & News: Baron Focused Growth Fund (BFGIX)

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the investment carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectuses contain this and other information about the Funds. You may obtain them from the Funds’ distributor, Baron Capital, Inc., by calling 1-800-99BARON or visiting www.BaronFunds.com. Please read them carefully before investing.

Risks: The Fund is non-diversified which means, in addition to increased volatility of the Fund’s returns, it will likely have a greater percentage of its assets in a single issuer or a small number of issuers, including in a particular industry than a diversified fund. Single issuer risk is the possibility that factors specific to an issuer to which the Fund is exposed will affect the market prices of the issuer’s securities and therefore the net asset value of the Fund. As of the date of the latest prospectus supplement, about 40% of the Fund’s assets are invested in Tesla stock. Therefore, the Fund is exposed to the risk that were Tesla stock to lose significant value, which could happen rapidly, the Fund’s performance would be adversely affected. Specific risks associated with investing in small and medium-sized companies include that the securities may be thinly traded and more difficult to sell during market downturns.

The Fund may not achieve its objectives.

Definitions (provided by BAMCO, Inc.): The indexes are unmanaged. The Russell 2500™ Growth Index measures the performance of small to medium-sized U.S. companies that are classified as growth and the S&P 500 Index of 500 widely the performance of small to medium-sized U.S. companies that held large cap U.S. companies. Russell Investment Group is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell is a trademark of Russell Investment Group. The indexes and the Fund include reinvestment of dividends, net of withholding taxes, which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. Index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.

Definitions (provided by BAMCO, Inc.): Standard Deviation: measures the degree to which a fund’s performance has varied from its average performance over a particular time period. The greater the standard deviation, the greater a fund’s volatility (risk). Sharpe Ratio: is a risk-adjusted performance statistic that measures reward per unit of risk. The higher the Sharpe ratio, the better a fund’s risk adjusted performance. Alpha: measures the difference between a fund’s actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of risk as measured by beta. Beta: measures a fund’s sensitivity to market movements. The beta of the market is 1.00 by definition. R-Squared: measures how closely a fund’s performance correlates to the performance of the benchmark index, and thus is a measurement of what portion of its performance can be explained by the performance of the index. Values for R-Squared range from 0 to 100, where 0 indicates no correlation and 100 indicates perfect correlation. Tracking Error: measures how closely a fund’s return follows the benchmark index returns. It is calculated as the annualized standard deviation of the difference between the fund and the index returns. Information Ratio: measures the excess return of a fund divided by the amount of risk the fund takes relative to the benchmark index. The higher the information ratio, the higher the excess return expected of the fund, given the amount of risk involved. Upside Capture: explains how well a fund performs in time periods where the benchmark’s returns are greater than zero. Downside Capture: explains how well a fund performs in time periods where the benchmark’s returns are less than zero

Definitions (provided by Baron Capital, Inc.): EPS Growth Rate (3-5 Year): indicates the long-term forecasted EPS growth of the companies in the portfolio, calculated using the weighted average of the available 3-to-5 year forecasted growth rates for each of the stocks in the portfolio provided by Factset Estimates. The EPS Growth rate does not forecast the Fund’s performance. Price/ Earnings Ratio (trailing 12-months): is a valuation ratio of a company’s current share price compared to its actual earnings per share over the last twelve months. Price/Book Ratio: is a ratio used to compare a company’s stock price to its tangible assets, and it is calculated by dividing the current closing price of the stock by the latest quarter’s book value per share. Price/Sales Ratio: is a valuation ratio of a stock’s price relative to its past performance. It represents the amount an investor is willing to pay for a dollar generated from a particular company’s operations. Price/Sales is calculated by dividing a stock’s current price by its revenue per share for the last 12 months. Weighted Harmonic Average: is a calculation that reduces the impact of extreme observation on the aggregate calculation by weighting them based on their size in the fund. Active Share is a term used to describe the share of a portfolio’s holdings that differ from that portfolio’s benchmark index. It is calculated by comparing the weight of each holding in the Fund to that holding’s weight in the benchmark. Positions with either a positive or negative weighting versus the benchmark have Active Share. An Active Share of 100% implies zero overlap with the benchmark. Active Share was introduced in 2006 in a study by Yale academics, M. Cremers and A. Petajisto, as a measure of active portfolio management.

One year turnover information to the most recent quarter and average market cap (unweighted) is available upon request.

Industry sector or sub-industry group levels are provided from the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”), developed and exclusively owned by MSCI, Inc. (“MSCI”) and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”). All GICS data is provided “as is” with no warranties.  The Adviser may have reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of a sub-industry.  Such reclassifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI.