Baron
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund
US Mega-cap Growth
Dec 2024 → Sep 2026
Our archive holds 7 letters from this strategy, behind 17 investment theses and positions in 31 companies. Every quote below is copied verbatim from the letter it came from.
7 letters in 3 years · follow all of Baron for every strategy.
Performance
as of Sep 30, 2026 · net of fees · USD · Institutional Shares
- YTD+19.0%index +6.3%
- 1Y+23.0%index +7.5%
- 3Y · /yr+31.6%index +24.3%
- 5Y · /yr+8.8%index +13.7%
- 10Y · /yr+16.4%index +18.2%
- Inception · /yr+11.3%index +12.6%
Index: Russell 1000 Growth Index
| YTD | 1Y | 3Yper year | 5Yper year | 10Yper year | Since inceptionper year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund | +19.0% | +23.0% | +31.6% | +8.8% | +16.4% | +11.3% |
| Russell 1000 Growth Index | +6.3% | +7.5% | +24.3% | +13.7% | +18.2% | +12.6% |
Since inception: Since Inception (4/30/2004)
Disclaimer
These figures are copied from the manager’s latest letter, as of Sep 30, 2026. They were extracted automatically, have not been verified by HF Best Ideas and may contain errors. They cover a single share class, in the currency and fee basis stated above; other share classes and your own returns will differ. This is not investment advice, nor an offer to buy or sell any fund. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Read full disclosures →What it bought and sold
we also trimmed several existing software holdings, Cloudflare, Datadog, and CrowdStrike, as their recent strong stock performance partially pulled forward future returns.
To fund these purchases, we sold our stub position in the Korean e-commerce platform, Coupang.
we also trimmed several existing software holdings, Cloudflare, Datadog, and CrowdStrike, as their recent strong stock performance partially pulled forward future returns.
We continued building our position in Amphenol Corporation during the third quarter after initiating it earlier in 2026.
- AddedCerebras Systems Inc.Sep 2026
Lastly, we continued to slowly build our position in the fast AI inference provider, Cerebras Systems Inc., after participating in the company’s IPO in the previous quarter.
For the same reason, we also slightly reduced our position in the leading DNA sequencing platform, Illumina.
We also continued to add to Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter.
we also trimmed several existing software holdings, Cloudflare, Datadog, and CrowdStrike, as their recent strong stock performance partially pulled forward future returns.
Top net sales for the quarter Quarter End Market Cap or Market Cap When Sold ($B) Net Amount Sold ($M) Snowflake Inc. 88.2 5.8 KKR & Co. Inc. 82.4 5.3 Datadog, Inc. 92.7 5.2 argenx SE 57.7 4.1 Samsara Inc. 18.9 4.1
Top net sales for the quarter Quarter End Market Cap or Market Cap When Sold ($B) Net Amount Sold ($M) Snowflake Inc. 88.2 5.8 KKR & Co. Inc. 82.4 5.3 Datadog, Inc. 92.7 5.2 argenx SE 57.7 4.1 Samsara Inc. 18.9 4.1
Top net sales for the quarter Quarter End Market Cap or Market Cap When Sold ($B) Net Amount Sold ($M) Snowflake Inc. 88.2 5.8 KKR & Co. Inc. 82.4 5.3 Datadog, Inc. 92.7 5.2 argenx SE 57.7 4.1 Samsara Inc. 18.9 4.1
During the second quarter, we initiated a new investment in the fast-inference semiconductor company, Cerebras.
We continued building our Amphenol Corporation position in the second quarter after initiating it in the first quarter (see the Q1 letter for a full write-up).
Top net sales for the quarter Quarter End Market Cap or Market Cap When Sold ($B) Net Amount Sold ($M) Snowflake Inc. 88.2 5.8 KKR & Co. Inc. 82.4 5.3 Datadog, Inc. 92.7 5.2 argenx SE 57.7 4.1 Samsara Inc. 18.9 4.1
We added to Eli Lilly & Company in the second quarter as we believe it remains a compelling big idea.
Top net sales for the quarter Quarter End Market Cap or Market Cap When Sold ($B) Net Amount Sold ($M) Snowflake Inc. 88.2 5.8 KKR & Co. Inc. 82.4 5.3 Datadog, Inc. 92.7 5.2 argenx SE 57.7 4.1 Samsara Inc. 18.9 4.1
Also held
Its investment theses
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp.Sep 2026SpaceX builds and launches rockets, satellites and spacecraft, and its compute-hosting deals, Starlink momentum and Starship progress place it in the early stages of a multi-decade growth opportunity.
- Tesla, Inc.Sep 2026Tesla makes electric vehicles, energy storage and real-world AI, and its FSD adoption, robotaxi miles and AI5 chip support a long-term physical AI opportunity.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company LimitedSep 2026TSMC is the largest contract chipmaker and leading maker of advanced logic chips, and its near-monopoly in leading-edge manufacturing, pricing power and scale support a long duration of growth.
- Amphenol CorporationSep 2026Amphenol supplies mission-critical interconnect, sensor and antenna solutions across many end markets, and its ability to innovate and adapt across cycles is underestimated by the market.
- Eli Lilly and CompanySep 2026Eli Lilly makes GIP/GLP-1 diabetes and obesity drugs, and its market share above 60% in the U.S. plus a vastly underpenetrated global market support a $180 billion-plus category.
- Cerebras Systems Inc.Sep 2026Cerebras provides fast AI inference, and its speed advantage should become more valuable as agentic AI adoption grows and customers pay more for lower latency.
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp.Jun 2026SpaceX is positioned as a uniquely advantaged platform across reusable rockets, Starlink, defense, and AI infrastructure with massive long-term optionality.
- Cerebras Systems Inc.Jun 2026Cerebras Systems Inc. targets fast AI inference with wafer-scale hardware and a durable moat in a still-early market.
- Eli Lilly and CompanyJun 2026Eli Lilly and Company is a leader in GLP-1 drugs with massive underpenetration, strong pipeline optionality, and long-term growth potential.
- Amphenol CorporationMar 2026Amphenol is a diversified interconnect leader with a strong culture, AI-driven growth acceleration, and a long runway for compounding.