Fund Evaluator:

Baron Asset Instl Overview

Baron Asset Instl (BARIX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Growth fund. Baron Capital Group, Inc. launched the fund in 2009.

The investment seeks capital appreciation through long-term investments primarily in securities of mid-sized companies with undervalued assets or favorable growth prospects. The fund invests for the long term primarily in equity securities in the form of common stock of U.S. mid-sized growth companies. BAMCO, Inc. ("BAMCO" or the "Adviser") defines mid-sized companies as those, at the time of purchase, with market capitalizations above $2.5 billion or the smallest market cap stock in the Russell Midcap Growth Index at reconstitution, whichever is larger, and below the largest market cap stock in the Russell Midcap Growth Index at reconstitution.

About Baron Asset Instl (BARIX)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 23.04 years: Andrew Peck (2003). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell Mid Cap Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Baron Asset Instl has 52 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 64.8% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Baron Asset Instl is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Baron Asset Instl has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.7%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.2% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Baron Asset Instl has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $658 million average for the Mid-Cap Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

BARIX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Baron Asset Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Growth category. Baron Asset Instl has an expense ratio of 1.05%, which is 4% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Baron Asset Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 6%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 77% for the Mid-Cap Growth category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Baron Asset Instl returned -11.9%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Mid-Cap Growth category had an average return of -5.5%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Baron Asset Instl has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.03% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Baron Asset Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned -3.3%, 9.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 0.7% over the past year (grade of D), 6.6% over the past three years (grade of D) and 0.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 10.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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