About Us

We built Baron Capital with a differentiated view on investing and clients. Our goal was to generate returns that would provide the security for retirement that individuals craved but could rarely access.

I came to New York in 1975 with a passion for investing and an ambition to challenge the industry. My early Wall Street career was typical, yet exceptional. In debt and living on a friend’s couch, I finally found work selling investment research to wealthy institutions. Meeting commission quotas was reliant on an ability to generate new investment ideas for large institutions. It was the job of many young investment professionals at the time. But differentiated methods and results made me stand out. The diligent research deployed resulted in sizable returns for clients and a loyal following among the elite investors of the day.

However, I was unsatisfied. I had envisioned using my investment approach for the people who had helped me throughout my life, not only deep-pocketed institutions. One of my uncles, a university professor, was the first to pique my interest in investing and taught me the importance of compounding returns. I envisioned assisting people like my father, an army engineer, and my mother, a petrol station bookkeeper, in building their retirement savings. It would only be achievable through low investment minimums, transparent research, and reasonable costs. With a small group, we started Baron Capital in 1982 with this vision.

The investment philosophy of Baron Capital was to be the long-term partner of businesses in which we invested. We understood that individuals should invest in companies that correspond with their time horizon. The common approach of investing in what companies are today does not make sense if you anticipate owning through retirement. Instead, investing in what companies can become better aligns most investors’ objectives. We started by researching small, undiscovered businesses and owning them as they grew into large industry behemoths. The team traveled regularly and extensively, meeting executives at their businesses who explained in depth their strategies and prospects for success. Peers saw the differentiated methods and analysis we conducted and wanted to join the quest. The team slowly grew, and the process evolved. The expanding group worked together to uncover opportunities with the top investment prospects while always remaining focused on the investors for whom we were providing financial stability.

Over the years, our firm continued to grow in scope, clients, and stature. New strategies were formed that deployed the same investment philosophy across various-sized businesses, geographies, and sectors. Today, Baron Funds has a lineup of 16 investment strategies with over 98% of the funds’ assets exceeding their benchmark since their inception. We are a team of over 40 investment professionals. All of us are applying Baron’s time-tested, long-term, fundamental investment approach while drawing upon our own experience, skills, and industry expertise.

Baron Capital’s popularity has grown immensely since our humble founding. But many prospective clients remained at an impasse when it came to selecting the appropriate offerings. They did not know in which strategy to invest and the suitable allocation breakdown among the various options. We had not satisfied our original goal of bringing investment security to everyone because many were stuck at the crucial allotment decision.

Prospective clients asked for assistance. The team proposed a fund that would allocate across our various strategies. Baron Capital could determine the appropriate allocation, rebalance in a tax efficient manner, and achieve optimal long-term returns while mitigating short-term volatility. After considerable time and studies understanding prospective returns, various correlations and risk, we were comfortable that a new strategy could closely mimic the way we had successfully invested. It would allow anyone to have the same access to diversified returns that we had personally utilized. It would allow anyone to build their wealth.

In an industry notorious for high fees and the layering of costs, we saw these charges as an impediment to investor returns. Layering additional fees would be egregious and detrimental to our clients’ goals. We made a commitment to not charge any overlay management fee for these allocation decisions.

And with that in mind, we created Baron WealthBuilder.