BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST

N-CSRS 1 d124672dncsrs.htm BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-5032

BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST f/k/a

BARON ASSET FUND

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor

New York, NY 10153

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Patrick M. Patalino, General Counsel

c/o Baron Investment Funds Trust

767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor

New York, NY 10153

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code): 212-583-2000

Date of fiscal year end: September 30

Date of reporting period: March 31, 2021

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

Baron Asset Fund

Baron Growth Fund

Baron Small Cap Fund

Baron Opportunity Fund

Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund

Baron Discovery Fund

Baron Durable Advantage Fund

March 31, 2021

Baron Funds^®

Baron Investment Funds Trust

Semi-Annual Financial Report


Baron Asset Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BARAX Institutional Shares: BARIX R6 Shares: BARUX
Performance			2
Top Ten Holdings			3
Sector Breakdown			3
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			3
Baron Growth Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BGRFX Institutional Shares: BGRIX R6 Shares: BGRUX
Performance			4
Top Ten Holdings			5
Sector Breakdown			5
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			5
Baron Small Cap Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BSCFX Institutional Shares: BSFIX R6 Shares: BSCUX
Performance			6
Top Ten Holdings			7
Sector Breakdown			7
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			7
Baron Opportunity Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BIOPX Institutional Shares: BIOIX R6 Shares: BIOUX
Performance			8
Top Ten Holdings			9
Sector Breakdown			9
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			9
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BFTHX Institutional Shares: BFTIX R6 Shares: BFTUX
Performance			10
Top Ten Holdings			11
Sector Breakdown			11
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			11
Baron Discovery Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BDFFX Institutional Shares: BDFIX R6 Shares: BDFUX
Performance			12
Top Ten Holdings			13
Sector Breakdown			13
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			13
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
*Ticker Symbols:*
Retail Shares: BDAFX Institutional Shares: BDAIX R6 Shares: BDAUX
Performance			14
Top Ten Holdings			15
Sector Breakdown			15
Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance			15
Financial Statements
Statements of Net Assets			16
Statements of Assets and Liabilities			29
Statements of Operations			31
Statements of Changes in Net Assets			33
Notes to Financial Statements			36
Financial Highlights			48
Fund Expenses			55

DEAR BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS SHAREHOLDER:

In this report, you will find unaudited financial statements for Baron Asset Fund, Baron Growth Fund, Baron Small Cap Fund, Baron Opportunity Fund, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund, Baron Discovery Fund, and Baron Durable Advantage Fund (the “Funds”) for the six months ended March 31, 2021. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) requires mutual funds to furnish these statements semi-annually to their shareholders. We hope you find these statements informative and useful.

We thank you for choosing to join us as fellow shareholders in Baron Funds. We will continue to work hard to justify your confidence.

Sincerely,

Ronald Baron

Chief Executive Officer

May 20, 2021

Linda S. Martinson

Chairman, President and

Chief Operating Officer

May 20, 2021

Peggy Wong

Treasurer and

Chief Financial Officer

May 20, 2021

This Semi-Annual Financial Report is for the Baron Investment Funds Trust, which currently has seven series: Baron Asset Fund, Baron Growth Fund, Baron Small Cap Fund, Baron Opportunity Fund, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund, Baron Discovery Fund, and Baron Durable Advantage Fund. If you are interested in Baron Select Funds, which contains the Baron Partners Fund, Baron Focused Growth Fund, Baron International Growth Fund, Baron Real Estate Fund, Baron Emerging Markets Fund, Baron Global Advantage Fund, Baron Real Estate Income Fund, Baron WealthBuilder Fund, Baron Health Care Fund, and Baron FinTech Fund series, please visit the Funds’ website at www.BaronFunds.com or contact us at 1-800-99BARON.

The Funds’ Proxy Voting Policy is available without charge and can be found on the Funds’ website at www.BaronFunds.com, by clicking on the “Regulatory Documents” link at the bottom left corner of the homepage or by calling 1-800-99BARON and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Funds’ most current proxy voting record, Form N-PX, is also available on the Funds’ website and on the SEC’s website.

The Funds file their complete schedules of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to their reports on Form N-PORT. The Funds’ Form N-PORT reports are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Schedules of portfolio holdings current to the most recent quarter are also available on the Funds’ website.

Some of the comments contained in this report are based on current management expectations and are considered “forward-looking statements.” Actual future results, however, may prove to be different from our expectations. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “estimate,” “may,” “expect,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “plan” and other similar terms. We cannot promise future returns and our opinions are a reflection of our best judgment at the time this report is compiled.

The views expressed in this report reflect those of BAMCO, Inc. (“BAMCO” or the “Adviser”) only through the end of the period stated in this report. The views are not intended as recommendations or investment advice to any person reading this report and are subject to change at any time without notice based on market and other conditions.

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. For more complete information about Baron Funds, including charges and expenses, call, write or go to www.BaronFunds.com for a prospectus or summary prospectus. Read them carefully before you invest or send money. This report is not authorized for use as an offer of sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Funds, unless accompanied or preceded by the Funds’ current prospectus or summary prospectus.

LOGO


Baron Asset Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON ASSET FUND (RETAIL SHARES)

IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL MIDCAP GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Ten Years		Since Inception (June 12, 1987)
Baron Asset Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		13.88%		57.89%		20.00%		19.74%		14.44%		12.23%
Baron Asset Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2,4		14.02%		58.28%		20.31%		20.05%		14.74%		12.34%
Baron Asset Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,4		14.02%		58.29%		20.31%		20.05%		14.74%		12.34%
Russell Midcap Growth Index¹		18.35%		68.61%		19.41%		18.39%		14.11%		10.93%	³
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		13.91%		10.34%

*	Not Annualized.

The Russell Midcap^TM Growth Index measures the performance of medium-sized U.S. companies that are classified as growth and the S&P 500 Index of 500 widely held large cap U.S. companies. The indexes and the Fund are with dividends reinvested, which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. The index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.

Past performance is not predictive of future performance. The performance data does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares. The Fund’s transfer agency expenses may be reduced by expense offsets from an unaffiliated transfer agent, without which performance would have been lower.

³	For the period June 30, 1987 to March 31, 2021.

⁴

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to May 29, 2009 is based on the performance of the Retail Shares. Performance for the R6 Shares prior to January 29, 2016 is based on the performance of the Institutional Shares, and prior to May 29, 2009 is based on the Retail Shares. The Retail Shares have a distribution fee, but Institutional Shares and R6 Shares do not. If the annual returns for the Institutional Shares and R6 Shares prior to May 29, 2009 did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Asset Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.		6.4%
Gartner, Inc.		5.0%
Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.		3.9%
ANSYS, Inc.		3.5%
Vail Resorts, Inc.		3.1%
CoStar Group, Inc.		3.1%
Verisk Analytics, Inc.		3.0%
Zillow Group, Inc.		2.9%
Bio-Techne Corporation		2.7%
Guidewire Software, Inc.		2.5%

		36.1%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Asset Fund¹ increased 13.88%, while the Russell Midcap Growth Index rose 18.35% and the S&P 500 Index rose 19.07%.

Baron Asset Fund invests primarily in medium-sized growth companies for the long term, using a value-oriented purchase discipline. The Fund purchases companies that we believe have sustainable competitive advantages, strong financial characteristics, and exceptional management; and operate in industries with favorable growth characteristics.

Beneath the seemingly placid surface of a market that rose ever higher, there was a perceptible change in leadership over the last six months, with value indexes of all market capitalizations outperforming their growth counterparts. Later in the period, as vaccinations ramped up, the “reopening trade” picked up steam, with the market rotating out of high-growth technology stocks and others that had done well during the pandemic and into companies and categories that were expected to benefit as the economy opened up. Small-cap stocks outperformed mid- and large-cap stocks during this period.

Health Care, Information Technology, and Consumer Discretionary investments contributed the most in the period. Real Estate was a slight detractor in the period.

Gartner, Inc. was the top contributor during the period. After taking a hit during the pandemic due to the shutdown of its events business, shares of this provider of syndicated research increased on financial results that bested analyst forecasts. Growth in the company’s research business has stabilized and is poised to return to double-digit levels, while its events business should add to financial results as travel restrictions ease. We expect improved revenue growth combined with renewed focus on cost control will drive margin expansion and enhanced free cash flow generation. Gartner’s balance sheet is in excellent shape, and we expect an acceleration in repurchases.

The top detractor was tower REIT SBA Communications Corp. After strong performance earlier in 2020, shares gave up some gains as the market rotated into laggards and a slight backup in interest rates impacted companies with elevated valuations. SBA owns and operates 30,000 cell phone towers, with 16,000 in the U.S. and 14,000 internationally. We retain conviction due to durable demand drivers in data growth and video as well as the company’s ability to consistently return capital to shareholders via share buybacks and dividends.

We do not invest based on our insights into macroeconomic, political, or, more recently, public health issues. Nevertheless, we are optimistic that near-term business conditions seem favorable for our investments — vaccinations are proceeding rapidly, and the reopening of the domestic economy appears imminent, significant fiscal stimulus in the form of infrastructure and related spending seems likely, and interest rates, though recently elevated, remain below historic levels.

We continue to adhere to our longstanding investment methodology while working hard to identify beneficiaries of accelerating changes in technology and consumer preferences, many of which have been impacted by the pandemic. We remain optimistic that this approach will generate strong performance for our portfolio, regardless of the economic climate.

^†

Sector levels are provided from the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”), developed and exclusively owned by MSCI, Inc. and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, unless otherwise stated that they have been reclassified or classified by the Adviser. All GICS data is provided “as is” with no warranties.

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Growth Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON GROWTH FUND (RETAIL SHARES)

IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL 2000 GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Ten Years		Since Inception (December 31, 1994)
Baron Growth Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		22.07%		72.42%		21.16%		19.60%		13.83%		13.92%
Baron Growth Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2,3		22.23%		72.85%		21.47%		19.91%		14.13%		14.06%
Baron Growth Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,3		22.24%		72.85%		21.47%		19.91%		14.13%		14.06%
Russell 2000 Growth Index¹		35.92%		90.20%		17.16%		18.61%		13.02%		9.15%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		13.91%		10.67%

*	Not Annualized.

The Russell 2000^® Growth Index measures the performance of small-sized U.S. companies that are classified as growth and the S&P 500 Index of 500 widely held large cap U.S. companies. The indexes and the Fund are with dividends reinvested, which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. The index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Growth Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
MSCI, Inc.		8.4%
Penn National Gaming, Inc.		7.6%
Vail Resorts, Inc.		6.7%
CoStar Group, Inc.		5.7%
ANSYS, Inc.		5.0%
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.		4.6%
FactSet Research Systems, Inc.		4.3%
Iridium Communications Inc.		4.1%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.		4.1%
Bio-Techne Corporation		3.8%

		54.3%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Growth Fund¹ increased 22.07%, while the Russell 2000 Growth Index increased 35.92% and the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Growth Fund invests primarily in small-sized U.S. growth companies for the long term. Through independent research, we utilize an investment approach that we believe allows us to look at a business’s fundamental characteristics and beyond the current market environment. We invest based on the potential profitability of a business at what we believe are attractive valuations.

Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Health Care holdings contributed the most. No sectors detracted.

Regional casino operator Penn National Gaming, Inc. was the top contributor. The stock price increased in the period on strong market share gains in the online sports betting and gaming markets in Michigan and the opening of the large Illinois online sports betting market. Solid sequential growth in revenue and sustained margin improvement in its bricks and mortar operations also helped boost the share price. We think these positive developments will improve the company’s balance sheet and EBITDA, leading to free cash flow conversion.

FactSet Research Systems, Inc., a leading provider of investment management tools, was the leading detractor from performance. Despite solid financial results, after a strong run during the pandemic, shares gave back some gains as part of a broader market rotation as steady, compounding stocks fell out of favor. We retain conviction due to FactSet’s large addressable market, consistent execution on both new product development and financial results, and robust free cash flow generation.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.

²	Represents less than 0.05% of total investments.


Baron Small Cap Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON SMALL CAP FUND (RETAIL SHARES)

IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL 2000 GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Ten Years		Since Inception (September 30, 1997)
Baron Small Cap Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		20.58%		87.89%		20.38%		20.87%		13.38%		11.34%
Baron Small Cap Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2,3		20.72%		88.40%		20.71%		21.19%		13.68%		11.48%
Baron Small Cap Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,3		20.73%		88.43%		20.70%		21.18%		13.67%		11.48%
Russell 2000 Growth Index¹		35.92%		90.20%		17.16%		18.61%		13.02%		7.57%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		13.91%		8.31%

*	Not Annualized.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Small Cap Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
Installed Building Products, Inc.		3.6%
Gartner, Inc.		3.6%
ASGN Incorporated		3.0%
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.		2.8%
Vertiv Holdings, LLC		2.7%
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc.		2.6%
Penn National Gaming, Inc.		2.5%
Guidewire Software, Inc.		2.4%
ICON Plc		2.3%
Aspen Technology, Inc.		2.3%

		27.8%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Small Cap Fund¹ increased 20.58%, while the Russell 2000 Growth Index increased 35.92% and the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Small Cap Fund invests primarily in small-cap growth companies for the long term. The Fund invests in what we believe are well-run small-cap growth businesses that can be purchased at prices that represent a significant discount to our assessment of future value.

Holdings in Information Technology, Industrials, and Consumer Discretionary contributed the most. Real Estate investments detracted slightly.

Clarivate Plc, a provider of IP and scientific information, tools, and services, was the top detractor. The stock fell on mixed financial results coupled with a broader rotation out of high-growth technology-related stocks that benefited earlier in the pandemic. We continue to believe that Clarivate will be a steady earnings compounder with M&A optionality, which should drive solid returns over a multi-year period.

As we look out to the rest of 2021, we expect the economy to recover quickly with growth rates of 6% to 8% in GDP, the strongest in 40 years. All economic segments are in launch mode, and we are comparing against the steep decline of 2020. Corporate profits are poised to grow dramatically. Countering these positive signs, many stocks are trading at rich valuations in anticipation of strong upcoming results. We believe interest rates could rise further because of economic strength, even as we believe the Federal Reserve will remain accommodative. Corporate taxes are bound to increase, which will reduce earnings somewhat. We suspect the best investments from here on out will be based more so on the particular micro-achievements and attributes of businesses than on broad generalizations.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Opportunity Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON OPPORTUNITY FUND^† (RETAIL SHARES)

IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL 3000 GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Ten Years		Since Inception (February 29, 2000)
Baron Opportunity Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		23.96%		104.05%		38.25%		33.14%		18.06%		10.47%
Baron Opportunity Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2,3		24.10%		104.55%		38.62%		33.50%		18.37%		10.64%
Baron Opportunity Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,3		24.13%		104.50%		38.62%		33.52%		18.38%		10.64%
Russell 3000 Growth Index¹		13.75%		64.31%		22.39%		20.87%		16.35%		6.55%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		13.91%		7.25%

*	Not Annualized.

†	The Fund’s 3-, 5-, and 10-year historical performance was impacted by gains from IPOs and/or secondary offerings, and there is no guarantee that these results can be repeated or that the Fund’s level of participation in IPOs and secondary offerings will be the same in the future.

The Russell 3000^® Growth Index measures the performance of those companies classified as growth among the largest 3,000 U.S. companies, and the S&P 500 Index of 500 widely held large cap U.S. companies. The indexes and the Fund are with dividends reinvested, which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. The index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.

Past performance is not predictive of future performance. The performance data does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares. The Adviser reimburses certain 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.

Performance for the Institutional Shares prior to May 29, 2009 is based on the performance of the Retail Shares. Performance for the R6 Shares prior to August 31, 2016 is based on the performance of the Institutional Shares, and prior to May 29, 2009 is based on the Retail Shares. The Retail Shares have a distribution fee, but Institutional Shares and R6 Shares do not. If the annual returns for the Institutional Shares and R6 Shares prior to May 29, 2009 did not reflect this fee, the returns would be higher.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Opportunity Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
Microsoft Corporation		8.8%
Alphabet Inc.		5.2%
Amazon.com, Inc.		4.8%
Tripadvisor, Inc.		3.4%
Tesla, Inc.		2.9%
Facebook, Inc.		2.3%
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.		2.3%
Pinterest, Inc.		2.2%
Visa, Inc.		2.0%
PayPal Holdings, Inc.		1.9%

		35.8%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Opportunity Fund¹ increased 23.96%, while the Russell 3000 Growth Index increased 13.75% and the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Opportunity Fund invests primarily in U.S. growth companies that we believe are driving or benefiting from innovation through development of pioneering, transformative, or technologically advanced products and services. The Fund invests in high-growth businesses of any market capitalization, selected for their capital appreciation potential.

Communication Services, Health Care, and Information Technology contributed the most. There were no detracting sectors in the period.

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (“PacBio”) was the top contributor during the period. Shares of this provider of long-read DNA sequencing systems increased on increasing investor conviction around the potential for PacBio’s platform as it lowers sequencing costs and seeks to move beyond its current commercial niche. Recently appointed CEO Christian Henry previously served as CFO and Chief Commercial Officer at Illumina, Inc., and we think he is well qualified to commercially execute on PacBio’s differentiated long-read platform.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited was the top detractor. Alibaba is the largest retailer and e-commerce company in China. The company operates shopping platforms Taobao and Tmall and owns 33% of Ant Group, which operates Alipay, China’s largest third-party online payment provider. Shares were down on the news that Chinese regulators had launched an investigation into Alibaba for suspected monopolistic behavior. We continue to believe Alibaba’s core business remains highly profitable, complemented by rapid growth in the cloud business and inflection in the Cainiao logistics and New Retail segments.

This continues to be a time of significant unknowns. However, we don’t have to answer the unanswerable to deliver strong investment returns. Rather, we are focusing our research, analysis, and investment decisions, as we always do, on what we can know and what matters. This means identifying the durable secular growth trends we believe will drive economic growth regardless of short-term economic cycles or stock market gyrations as well as the companies with sustainable competitive advantages, profitable business models, and long-term-oriented managers driving or riding those trends. We establish and monitor short- and long-term price targets for all our holdings and target companies using internal projections of revenues, earnings, and free cash flow and appropriate multiples, and we buy or add to our stakes in these companies at prices where we believe we can deliver substantial returns.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND

(RETAIL SHARES) IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL 1000 GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Ten Years		Since Inception (April 30, 2004)
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		6.30%		63.56%		23.13%		23.77%		17.23%		11.39%
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2,3		6.45%		63.99%		23.44%		24.09%		17.52%		11.59%
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,3		6.44%		63.96%		23.44%		24.10%		17.53%		11.59%
Russell 1000 Growth Index¹		12.44%		62.74%		22.80%		21.05%		16.63%		11.87%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		13.91%		10.07%

*	Not Annualized.

The Russell 1000^® Growth Index measures the performance of large-sized U.S. companies that are classified as growth and the S&P 500 Index of 500 widely held large cap U.S. companies. The indexes and the Fund are with dividends reinvested, which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. The index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.

Past performance is not predictive of future performance. The performance data does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares. The Adviser reimburses certain 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.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
Amazon.com, Inc.		8.1%
Alphabet Inc.		6.1%
Facebook, Inc.		4.5%
Twilio Inc.		3.8%
Mastercard Incorporated		3.8%
Veeva Systems Inc.		3.6%
ServiceNow, Inc.		3.6%
EPAM Systems, Inc.		3.4%
Adobe Inc.		3.4%
ASML Holding N.V.		3.3%

		43.6%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund¹ increased 6.30%, while the Russell 1000 Growth Index increased 12.44% and the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund focuses on identifying and investing in what we believe are unique companies with sustainable competitive advantages and the ability to redeploy capital at high rates of return. The portfolio is constructed on a bottom-up basis, with the quality of ideas and conviction level the most important determinants of the size of each investment. We expect our highest conviction businesses to have meaningful weight in the portfolio. Sector weightings are incidental to portfolio construction, and exposure to any sector is a result of stock selection.

Information Technology, Communication Services, and Health Care holdings contributed the most. Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary holdings detracted slightly.

ASML Holding N.V. was the top contributor during the period. ASML designs and manufactures semiconductor production equipment, specializing in photolithography, where light sources are used to photo-reactively create patterns on wafers that ultimately become printed integrated circuits. Shares of ASML appreciated on renewed market confidence that the semiconductor cycle has turned positive, driven by tighter supply and a robust demand environment. We maintain conviction as ASML is the de facto standard in next generation lithography, which is a required step for semiconductor chip production.

Our goal remains to maximize long-term returns without taking significant risks of a permanent loss of capital. We are optimistic about the prospects of our investments and continue searching for new ideas while remaining patient and investing only when we believe companies are trading significantly below their intrinsic values.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Discovery Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON DISCOVERY FUND^† (RETAIL SHARES)

IN RELATION TO THE RUSSELL 2000 GROWTH INDEX AND THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Five Years		Since Inception (September 30, 2013)
Baron Discovery Fund — Retail Shares^1,2		34.77%		122.40%		31.82%		31.18%		21.08%
Baron Discovery Fund — Institutional Shares^1,2		34.92%		123.05%		32.16%		31.52%		21.38%
Baron Discovery Fund — R6 Shares^1,2,3		34.95%		123.11%		32.17%		31.53%		21.39%
Russell 2000 Growth Index¹		35.92%		90.20%		17.16%		18.61%		13.12%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		16.29%		14.42%

*	Not Annualized.

^†	The Fund’s 3- and 5-year historical performance was impacted by gains from IPOs and/or secondary offerings, and there is no guarantee that these results can be repeated or that the Fund’s level of participation in IPOs and secondary offerings will be the same in the future.

Past performance is not predictive of future performance. The performance data does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares. The Adviser reimburses certain 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.

³	Performance for the R6 Shares prior to August 31, 2016 is based on the performance of the Institutional Shares.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Discovery Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
Tripadvisor, Inc.		2.7%
Mercury Systems, Inc.		2.7%
TPI Composites, Inc.		2.4%
Endava plc		2.3%
Inogen, Inc.		2.3%
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.		2.1%
CareDx, Inc.		2.1%
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc.		2.0%
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.		2.0%
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.		1.9%

		22.5%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Discovery Fund¹ increased 34.77%, while the Russell 2000 Growth Index increased 35.92% and the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Discovery Fund invests primarily in small-sized U.S. companies which at time of purchase have market capitalizations up to the largest market cap stock in the Russell 2000 Growth Index at reconstitution, or companies with market capitalizations up to $2.5 billion, whichever is larger.

Industrials, Health Care, and Information Technology investments contributed the most. No sectors detracted in the period.

Acutus Medical, Inc. was the top detractor. The company offers an imaging platform for catheter-based ablation to treat arrhythmia. Shares pulled back as the company is in the very early stages of commercialization and the launch is progressing slower than analyst forecasts. That being said, we think Acutus has a differentiated mapping solution that has significant potential to disrupt the ablation market over the long term.

We are optimistic that the fundamentals of our companies will improve in a post-pandemic environment. Over the longer term, we remain encouraged by the prospects for our investments. We try not to be sidetracked by the macro “noise” and instead focus our energies on managing our existing investments and finding new ones. We continue to find high-quality, fast-growing small companies with significant stock appreciation potential.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Durable Advantage Fund (Unaudited)		March 31, 2021

COMPARISON OF THE CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN BARON DURABLE ADVANTAGE FUND

(RETAIL SHARES) IN RELATION TO THE S&P 500 INDEX

LOGO


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
	Six Months*		One Year		Three Years		Since Inception (December 29, 2017)
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Retail Shares^1, 2		10.71%		47.16%		16.69%		15.77%
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Institutional Shares^{1, 2}		10.85%		47.45%		16.98%		16.04%
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — R6 Shares^1, 2		10.85%		47.45%		16.98%		16.04%
S&P 500 Index¹		19.07%		56.35%		16.78%		15.12%

*	Not Annualized.

The S&P 500 Index measures the performance of 500 widely held large cap U.S. companies. The index and the Fund are with dividends reinvested, which positively impact the performance results. The index is unmanaged. The index performance is not Fund performance; one cannot invest directly into an index.

Past performance is not predictive of future performance. The performance data does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or redemption of Fund shares. The Adviser reimburses certain 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.


March 31, 2021 (Unaudited)		Baron Durable Advantage Fund

TOP TEN HOLDINGS AS OF MARCH 31, 2021


	Percent of Net Assets
Alphabet Inc.		8.6%
Microsoft Corporation		8.4%
Facebook, Inc.		6.8%
Visa, Inc.		4.4%
Mastercard Incorporated		4.2%
Adobe Inc.		4.1%
Moody’s Corporation		4.0%
Danaher Corporation		3.7%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.		3.6%
S&P Global Inc.		3.3%

		51.1%

SECTOR BREAKDOWN AS OF MARCH 31, 2021^†

(as a percentage of net assets)

LOGO

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE

For the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Durable Advantage Fund¹ increased 10.71% while the S&P 500 Index increased 19.07%.

Baron Durable Advantage Fund invests mainly in large-sized U.S. companies with competitive advantages and market capitalizations no smaller than the top 90^th percentile by market capitalization of the S&P 500 Index at June 30, or companies with market capitalizations above $10 billion, whichever is smaller. The Fund emphasizes businesses with excess free cash flow that can be returned to shareholders.

Information Technology, Communication Services, and Health Care investments contributed the most. Real Estate holdings detracted slightly.

Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, the world’s largest search and online advertising company, contributed the most. Shares rose on strong financial quarter results that saw continued recovery in ad spend and accelerated cloud revenue growth. We remain highly convicted in Alphabet’s merits as it continues to benefit from growth in mobile and online video advertising, which accrues to its core assets of search, YouTube, and the Google ad network. Alphabet’s investments in AI, autonomous driving (Waymo), and life sciences (Verily, Calico) provide additional optionalities for growth.

Leading pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC was the top detractor. Shares were impacted by negative news regarding AstraZeneca’s joint development with Oxford University of a viral-based COVID-19 vaccine. Given a mixed data set due to an unforeseen error in dosing that occurred in the Brazilian market, the vaccine timelines slipped, hurting share performance. In March, setbacks related to reported fatal blood clots associated with the vaccine further pressured shares. We exited our position.

We believe investing in great businesses at attractive valuations will enable us to earn excess risk-adjusted returns over the long term. We look for companies with strong and durable competitive advantages, proven track records of successful capital allocation, high returns on invested capital, and high free cash flow generation, a significant portion of which is regularly returned to shareholders as dividends or share repurchases. We are optimistic about the prospects of the companies we own while continuing to search for new ideas and opportunities.

^†

¹	Performance information reflects results of the Retail Shares.


Baron Asset Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (99.19%)
Communication Services (7.93%)
		Cable & Satellite (1.06%)
	405,000	Liberty Broadband Corporation, Cl C¹	$	30,120,676	$	60,810,750

		Interactive Media & Services (6.87%)
	266,462	Bumble, Inc., Cl A¹		11,457,866		16,621,899
	542,000	Pinterest, Inc., Cl A¹		21,216,031		40,124,260
	1,600,000	Tripadvisor, Inc.¹		57,312,817		86,064,000
	1,287,965	Zillow Group, Inc., Cl C¹		44,039,787		166,971,783
	1,755,709	ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., Cl A¹		44,675,583		85,854,170

				178,702,084		395,636,112

	Total Communication Services			208,822,760		456,446,862


Consumer Discretionary (7.17%)
		Education Services (0.60%)
	200,000	Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc.¹		22,917,264		34,290,000

		Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines (1.82%)
	556,442	Choice Hotels International, Inc.		5,979,508		59,700,662
	543,233	Hyatt Hotels Corp., Cl A¹		16,817,762		44,925,369

				22,797,270		104,626,031

		Internet & Direct Marketing Retail (1.64%)
	1,025,000	Farfetch Limited, Cl A^1,2		29,811,176		54,345,500
	810,000	Stitch Fix, Inc., Cl A¹		50,321,083		40,127,400

				80,132,259		94,472,900

		Leisure Facilities (3.11%)
	613,538	Vail Resorts, Inc.¹		11,879,547		178,944,493

	Total Consumer Discretionary			137,726,340		412,333,424


Financials (11.00%)
		Asset Management & Custody Banks (0.75%)
	252,514	T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.		6,225,359		43,331,402

		Financial Exchanges & Data (4.85%)
	370,725	FactSet Research Systems, Inc.		19,898,420		114,402,028
	257,267	MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.		31,487,484		128,098,384
	30,000	MSCI, Inc.		7,783,774		12,578,400
	326,189	Tradeweb Markets, Inc., Cl A		11,978,713		24,137,986

				71,148,391		279,216,798

		Insurance Brokers (0.93%)
	233,421	Willis Towers Watson plc²		28,696,680		53,425,399

		Investment Banking & Brokerage (2.07%)
	1,825,936	The Charles Schwab Corp.		1,609,715		119,014,509

		Property & Casualty Insurance (1.47%)
	2,203,444	Arch Capital Group Ltd.^1,2		7,933,936		84,546,146

		Regional Banks (0.93%)
	320,421	First Republic Bank		8,284,701		53,430,202

	Total Financials			123,898,782		632,964,456


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)
Health Care (24.98%)
		Biotechnology (0.55%)
	136,925	Acceleron Pharma, Inc.¹	$	13,026,017	$	18,568,399
	48,366	argenx SE, ADR^1,2		15,852,353		13,319,513

				28,878,370		31,887,912

		Health Care Equipment (8.87%)
	178,000	DexCom, Inc.¹		57,208,055		63,971,420
	751,630	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.¹		13,728,516		367,780,075
	189,644	Teleflex, Inc.		37,305,542		78,789,496

				108,242,113		510,540,991

		Health Care Supplies (3.64%)
	215,418	The Cooper Companies, Inc.		36,713,299		82,739,900
	449,404	West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.		19,479,340		126,633,059

				56,192,639		209,372,959

		Health Care Technology (2.33%)
	180,000	Schrödinger, Inc.¹		13,739,925		13,732,200
	459,386	Veeva Systems, Inc., Cl A¹		27,115,596		120,009,999

				40,855,521		133,742,199

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (9.59%)
	100,682	10X Genomics, Inc., Cl A¹		3,926,598		18,223,442
	399,986	Bio-Techne Corporation		39,595,545		152,766,653
	351,000	Guardant Health, Inc.^1,4		32,239,895		53,580,150
	267,552	Illumina, Inc.¹		11,466,235		102,756,021
	194,117	Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.¹		11,674,111		224,339,076

				98,902,384		551,665,342

	Total Health Care			333,071,027		1,437,209,403


Industrials (13.90%)
		Agricultural & Farm Machinery (0.41%)
	230,045	The Toro Co.		13,985,758		23,726,841

		Environmental & Facilities Services (0.98%)
	1,643,418	Rollins, Inc.		24,597,482		56,566,448

		Industrial Conglomerates (1.84%)
	262,192	Roper Technologies, Inc.		27,877,853		105,752,521

		Industrial Machinery (1.24%)
	340,760	IDEX Corporation		24,525,881		71,327,883

		Research & Consulting Services (9.43%)
	2,230,474	Clarivate Analytics Plc^1,2		35,903,681		58,862,209
	215,493	CoStar Group, Inc.¹		42,162,593		177,111,542
	1,468,500	TransUnion		79,691,638		132,165,000
	986,206	Verisk Analytics, Inc.		24,566,136		174,252,738

				182,324,048		542,391,489

	Total Industrials			273,311,022		799,765,182


Information Technology (29.47%)
		Application Software (14.29%)
	586,856	ANSYS, Inc.¹		23,572,715		199,272,823
	395,300	Aspen Technology, Inc.¹		40,628,908		57,053,649
	155,000	Avalara, Inc.¹		22,352,507		20,681,650
	1,636,093	Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc.¹		64,026,866		137,873,557
	125,000	Fair Isaac Corp.¹		51,657,237		60,756,250
	1,421,809	Guidewire Software, Inc.¹		77,473,157		144,498,449
	35,000	HubSpot, Inc.¹		18,056,213		15,897,350
	273,000	RingCentral, Inc., Cl A¹		64,550,462		81,321,240
	771,076	SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc.		20,933,204		53,875,080
	78,000	The Trade Desk, Inc., Cl A¹		15,425,650		50,829,480

				398,676,919		822,059,528


16		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Asset Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Information Technology (continued)

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (1.64%)
	669,217	Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.	$	39,015,641	$	94,098,603

		Electronic Components (1.03%)
	900,000	Amphenol Corp., Cl A		42,881,684		59,373,000

		Internet Services & Infrastructure (5.43%)
	680,000	GDS Holdings Limited, ADR^1,2		40,586,224		55,141,200
	592,103	Verisign, Inc.¹		27,318,889		117,686,392
	500,000	Wix.com Ltd.^1,2		46,031,911		139,610,000

				113,937,024		312,437,592

		IT Consulting & Other Services (5.94%)
	132,000	EPAM Systems, Inc.¹		47,054,412		52,363,080
	1,584,323	Gartner, Inc.¹		39,586,888		289,218,164

				86,641,300		341,581,244

		Technology Distributors (1.14%)
	397,363	CDW Corp.		26,228,965		65,862,917

	Total Information Technology			707,381,533		1,695,412,884


Materials (0.48%)
		Specialty Chemicals (0.48%)
	1,853,529	Diversey Holdings Ltd.^1,2		27,802,935		27,265,411


Real Estate (4.26%)
		Real Estate Services (0.75%)
	542,323	CBRE Group, Inc., Cl A¹		6,067,334		42,903,173

		Specialized REITs (3.51%)
	205,000	Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.⁴		31,042,395		33,681,500
	92,416	Equinix, Inc.		6,129,564		62,804,989
	380,856	SBA Communications Corp.		9,895,680		105,706,583

				47,067,639		202,193,072

	Total Real Estate			53,134,973		245,096,245

	Total Common Stocks			1,865,149,372		5,706,493,867

Shares

Cost

Value

Private Preferred Stocks (0.70%)

Industrials (0.70%)

Aerospace & Defense (0.70%)

96,298

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl N^1,3,4,6

26,000,460

40,444,197

Principal Amount

Short Term Investments (0.08%)

$4,820,270

Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $4,820,270; (Fully collateralized by $4,796,400 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.75% due 6/15/2022; Market value - $4,916,771)⁵

4,820,270

Total Investments (99.97%)

1,895,970,102

5,751,758,334

Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.03%)

1,548,419

Net Assets

5,753,306,753

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $109.90 per share
based on 24,631,638 shares outstanding)

2,706,941,432

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $115.10 per share
based on 24,981,756 shares outstanding)

2,875,474,064

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $115.08 per share
based on 1,484,946 shares outstanding)

170,891,257

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $40,444,197 or 0.70% of net assets. This security is not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁴	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁵	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁶	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

^ADR	American Depositary Receipt.

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		17


Baron Growth Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (99.66%)
Communication Services (4.88%)
		Alternative Carriers (4.12%)
	8,625,000	Iridium Communications, Inc.^1,4	$	54,029,121	$	355,781,250

		Movies & Entertainment (0.76%)
	4,200,000	Manchester United plc, Cl A²		58,275,333		66,108,000

	Total Communication Services			112,304,454		421,889,250


Consumer Discretionary (24.24%)
		Casinos & Gaming (8.51%)
	440,000	Boyd Gaming Corporation¹		11,056,072		25,942,400
	6,240,000	Penn National Gaming, Inc.¹		87,389,957		654,201,600
	1,695,000	Red Rock Resorts, Inc., Cl A¹		31,634,189		55,240,050

				130,080,218		735,384,050

		Education Services (2.72%)
	1,370,000	Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc.¹		43,400,248		234,886,500

		Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines (6.26%)
	3,000,000	Choice Hotels International, Inc.⁴		72,782,127		321,870,000
	1,260,000	Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp.¹		67,382,524		219,466,800

				140,164,651		541,336,800

		Leisure Facilities (6.75%)
	2,000,000	Vail Resorts, Inc.¹		56,102,209		583,320,000

	Total Consumer Discretionary			369,747,326		2,094,927,350


Financials (27.61%)
		Asset Management & Custody Banks (2.26%)
	1,950,000	The Carlyle Group, Inc.		40,679,867		71,682,000
	1,900,000	Cohen & Steers, Inc.		43,941,528		124,127,000

				84,621,395		195,809,000

		Financial Exchanges & Data (15.42%)
	1,200,000	FactSet Research Systems, Inc.		59,954,575		370,308,000
	1,065,000	Morningstar, Inc.		22,214,165		239,667,600
	1,725,000	MSCI, Inc.		32,559,612		723,258,000

				114,728,352		1,333,233,600

		Investment Banking & Brokerage (0.83%)
	450,000	Houlihan Lokey, Inc.		19,625,874		29,929,500
	760,000	Moelis & Co., Cl A		16,518,301		41,708,800

				36,144,175		71,638,300

		Life & Health Insurance (2.82%)
	1,650,000	Primerica, Inc.		34,713,772		243,903,000

		Property & Casualty Insurance (5.99%)
	9,200,000	Arch Capital Group Ltd.^1,2		28,745,252		353,004,000
	1,000,000	Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.		35,007,763		164,800,000

				63,753,015		517,804,000

		Thrifts & Mortgage Finance (0.29%)
	520,000	Essent Group Ltd.²		14,300,210		24,694,800

	Total Financials			348,260,919		2,387,082,700


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)
Health Care (13.71%)
		Biotechnology (0.45%)
	678,051	Denali Therapeutics, Inc.¹	$	12,825,338	$	38,716,712

		Health Care Equipment (4.58%)
	809,000	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.¹		11,649,561		395,851,790

		Health Care Supplies (2.30%)
	573,717	Neogen Corp.¹		13,141,411		50,997,704
	525,000	West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.		17,892,374		147,934,500

				31,033,785		198,932,204

		Health Care Technology (0.90%)
	300,000	American Well Corp., Cl A¹		5,400,000		5,211,000
	950,000	Schrödinger, Inc.¹		15,170,276		72,475,500

				20,570,276		77,686,500

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (5.15%)
	420,000	Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation¹		13,696,839		16,909,200
	850,000	Bio-Techne Corporation		44,923,357		324,640,500
	90,000	Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.¹		4,118,850		104,012,100

				62,739,046		445,561,800

		Pharmaceuticals (0.33%)
	598,076	Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (United Kingdom)²		18,422,044		28,280,593

	Total Health Care			157,240,050		1,185,029,599


Industrials (9.05%)
		Building Products (2.40%)
	2,270,000	Trex Company, Inc.¹		20,550,794		207,795,800

		Diversified Support Services (0.19%)
	485,453	ACV Auctions, Inc., Cl A^1,5		12,136,325		16,801,528

		Environmental & Facilities Services (0.24%)
	1,220,102	BrightView Holdings, Inc.¹		15,117,285		20,583,121

		Industrial Machinery (0.51%)
	1,000,000	Desktop Metal, Inc.¹		10,000,000		14,900,000
	4,275,000	Marel hf (Netherlands)²		18,281,670		29,277,629

				28,281,670		44,177,629

		Research & Consulting Services (5.71%)
	600,000	CoStar Group, Inc.¹		25,180,531		493,134,000

	Total Industrials			101,266,605		782,492,078


Information Technology (14.53%)
		Application Software (10.20%)
	725,000	Altair Engineering, Inc., Cl A¹		11,330,019		45,363,250
	1,275,000	ANSYS, Inc.¹		29,682,364		432,939,000
	1,025,000	Guidewire Software, Inc.¹		31,789,104		104,170,750
	1,000,000	Pegasystems, Inc.		13,997,009		114,340,000
	2,650,000	SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc.		20,478,685		185,155,500

				107,277,181		881,968,500

		Electronic Components (0.34%)
	110,000	Littelfuse, Inc.		11,860,663		29,088,400


18		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Growth Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021

Shares

Cost

Value

Common Stocks (continued)

Information Technology (continued)

Internet Services & Infrastructure (0.61%)

190,000

Wix.com Ltd.^1,2

10,009,756

53,051,800

IT Consulting & Other Services (3.38%)

1,600,000

Gartner, Inc.¹

22,491,963

292,080,000

Total Information Technology

151,639,563

1,256,188,700

Real Estate (5.58%)

Diversified REITs (0.13%)

350,000

American Assets Trust, Inc.

6,361,578

11,354,000

Office REITs (1.35%)

3,700,000

Douglas Emmett, Inc.

40,811,196

116,180,000

Specialized REITs (4.10%)

750,000

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.⁵

26,366,340

123,225,000

5,450,000

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.

117,004,489

231,243,500

143,370,829

354,468,500

Total Real Estate

190,543,603

482,002,500

Special Purpose Acquisition Company (0.06%)

500,000

Yucaipa Acquisition Corp.^1,2

5,000,000

5,125,000

Total Common Stocks

1,436,002,520

8,614,737,177

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks (0.43%)

Industrials (0.13%)

Electrical Components & Equipment (0.13%)

59,407,006

Northvolt AB Series E (Sweden)^2,3,5,7

9,374,989

11,729,854

Materials (0.30%)

Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals (0.16%)

341,838

Farmers Business Network, Inc., Series F^1,3,5,7

11,300,002

13,464,999

Specialty Chemicals (0.14%)

1,256,332

Zymergen, Inc., Series D^1,3,5,7

9,350,000

12,123,604

Total Materials

20,650,002

25,588,603

Total Private Convertible Preferred Stocks

30,024,991

37,318,457

Shares

Cost

Value

Warrants (0.01%)

Consumer Discretionary (0.01%)

Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines (0.01%)

96,515

OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd. Warrants, Exp 3/19/2024^1,2,5,6

528,902

Total Investments (100.10%)

1,466,027,511

8,652,584,536

Liabilities Less Cash and Other Assets (-0.10%)

(8,472,509

)

Net Assets

8,644,112,027

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $105.45 per share
based on 26,884,500 shares outstanding)

2,834,998,056

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $109.87 per share
based on 51,014,120 shares outstanding)

5,605,037,758

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $109.89 per share
based on 1,857,165 shares outstanding)

204,076,213

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $37,318,457 or 0.43% of net assets. These securities are not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁴	See Note 10 regarding “Affiliated” companies.

⁵	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁶	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁷	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		19


Baron Small Cap Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (98.75%)
Communication Services (3.89%)
		Cable & Satellite (1.69%)
	100,000	Liberty Broadband Corporation, Cl A¹	$	404,823	$	14,515,000
	260,000	Liberty Broadband Corporation, Cl C¹		1,017,091		39,039,000
	750,000	Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty SiriusXM, Cl C¹		1,602,980		33,082,500

				3,024,894		86,636,500

		Movies & Entertainment (2.20%)
	1,250,000	Liberty Media Corporation-Liberty Formula One, Cl C¹		22,521,105		54,112,500
	225,000	Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.¹		3,552,159		18,405,000
	225,000	Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.		8,416,556		40,378,500

				34,489,820		112,896,000

	Total Communication Services			37,514,714		199,532,500


Consumer Discretionary (16.70%)
		Auto Parts & Equipment (0.25%)
	100,000	Fox Factory Holding Corp.¹		8,360,558		12,706,000

		Casinos & Gaming (4.68%)
	925,000	DraftKings, Inc., Cl A¹		11,844,047		56,730,250
	1,200,000	Penn National Gaming, Inc.¹		21,405,753		125,808,000
	1,750,000	Red Rock Resorts, Inc., Cl A¹		33,900,258		57,032,500

				67,150,058		239,570,750

		Education Services (2.17%)
	650,000	Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc.¹		20,000,397		111,442,500

		General Merchandise Stores (1.02%)
	600,000	Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc.¹		36,339,481		52,200,000

		Home Improvement Retail (2.61%)
	1,400,000	Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Cl A¹		50,447,340		133,672,000

		Homebuilding (3.62%)
	1,675,000	Installed Building Products, Inc.³		96,796,123		185,724,000

		Leisure Facilities (1.21%)
	800,000	Planet Fitness, Inc., Cl A¹		28,416,505		61,840,000

		Restaurants (1.14%)
	1,000,000	The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.¹		22,120,507		58,510,000

	Total Consumer Discretionary			329,630,969		855,665,250


Consumer Staples (1.89%)
		Packaged Foods & Meats (1.89%)
	3,899,907	UTZ Brands, Inc.		63,724,480		96,678,695


Financials (3.69%)
		Insurance Brokers (1.59%)
	3,000,000	BRP Group, Inc., Cl A¹		48,364,955		81,750,000

		Investment Banking & Brokerage (0.81%)
	625,000	Houlihan Lokey, Inc.		28,909,333		41,568,750

		Property & Casualty Insurance (1.29%)
	400,000	Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.		55,469,399		65,920,000

	Total Financials			132,743,687		189,238,750


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)
Health Care (16.52%)
		Health Care Equipment (7.03%)
	1,000,000	Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc.¹	$	35,459,918	$	59,890,000
	300,000	CryoPort, Inc.¹		13,683,573		15,603,000
	215,000	DexCom, Inc.¹		2,852,007		77,268,850
	175,000	IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.¹		2,494,085		85,629,250
	320,000	Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.^1,4		16,558,159		66,236,800
	1,100,000	Silk Road Medical, Inc.^1,4		45,930,627		55,715,000

				116,978,369		360,342,900

		Health Care Services (0.65%)
	500,000	Innovage Holding Corp.¹		11,059,903		12,895,000
	3,250,000	SOC Telemed, Inc.^1,4		32,300,144		20,442,500

				43,360,047		33,337,500

		Health Care Technology (0.40%)
	741,845	Certara, Inc.¹		17,505,744		20,252,368

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (6.29%)
	250,000	Guardant Health, Inc.^1,4		4,953,266		38,162,500
	600,000	ICON plc^1,2		16,994,341		117,822,000
	1,782,487	MaxCyte, Inc. (United Kingdom)^1,4		20,681,179		21,624,549
	50,000	Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.¹		2,432,541		57,784,500
	282,073	Olink Holding AB, ADR^1,2,4		6,388,626		10,154,628
	500,000	PRA Health Sciences, Inc.¹		9,000,000		76,665,000

				60,449,953		322,213,177

		Managed Health Care (1.23%)
	925,000	HealthEquity, Inc.¹		18,699,522		62,900,000

		Pharmaceuticals (0.92%)
	1,000,000	Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (United Kingdom)²		28,027,985		47,285,952

	Total Health Care			285,021,620		846,331,897


Industrials (23.74%)
		Aerospace & Defense (4.34%)
	2,350,000	Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.¹		35,335,984		64,108,000
	1,200,000	Mercury Systems, Inc.¹		39,451,949		84,780,000
	125,000	TransDigm Group, Inc.¹		0		73,490,000

				74,787,933		222,378,000

		Building Products (2.33%)
	1,090,609	AZEK Co., Inc.¹		25,084,007		45,860,109
	800,000	Trex Company, Inc.¹		30,505,504		73,232,000

				55,589,511		119,092,109

		Diversified Support Services (0.84%)
	1,700,000	Driven Brands Holdings, Inc.¹		41,994,770		43,214,000

		Electrical Components & Equipment (4.79%)
	2,200,000	Array Technologies, Inc.¹		52,200,695		65,604,000
	1,150,000	Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., Cl A¹		31,290,457		39,997,000
	7,000,000	Vertiv Holdings Co.		69,871,612		140,000,000

				153,362,764		245,601,000

		Environmental & Facilities Services (1.58%)
	750,000	Waste Connections, Inc.²		32,750,000		80,985,000

		Human Resource & Employment Services (2.98%)
	1,600,000	ASGN, Inc.¹		36,344,971		152,704,000

		Industrial Machinery (1.84%)
	500,000	John Bean Technologies Corp.		42,775,112		66,670,000
	140,000	RBC Bearings, Incorporated¹		8,868,639		27,547,800

				51,643,751		94,217,800


20		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Small Cap Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Industrials (continued)

		Research & Consulting Services (2.06%)
	4,000,000	Clarivate Analytics Plc^1,2	$	44,078,833	$	105,560,000

		Trading Companies & Distributors (2.98%)
	150,000	Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc.^1,4		3,000,000		9,048,000
	840,241	SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.¹		20,640,461		143,462,748

				23,640,461		152,510,748

	Total Industrials			514,192,994		1,216,262,657


Information Technology (25.12%)
		Application Software (9.72%)
	800,000	Altair Engineering, Inc., Cl A¹		12,789,534		50,056,000
	800,000	Aspen Technology, Inc.¹		29,983,938		115,464,000
	850,000	Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc.¹		23,711,721		71,629,500
	5,500,000	E2open Parent Holdings, Inc.¹		56,380,601		54,780,000
	1,225,000	Guidewire Software, Inc.¹		31,269,358		124,496,750
	125,000	The Trade Desk, Inc., Cl A¹		4,437,500		81,457,500

				158,572,652		497,883,750

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (5.42%)
	750,000	Nuvei Corp., 144A (Canada)^1,2		20,780,312		45,375,000
	3,500,000	Paya Holdings, Inc., Cl A¹		36,561,336		38,360,000
	3,500,000	Repay Holdings Corporation¹		33,000,000		82,180,000
	405,170	Shift4 Payments, Inc., Cl A¹		9,677,975		33,227,992
	375,000	WEX, Inc.¹		15,715,807		78,457,500

				115,735,430		277,600,492

		Electronic Equipment & Instruments (1.94%)
	1,200,000	Cognex Corp.		9,420,069		99,588,000

		Internet Services & Infrastructure (1.91%)
	350,000	Wix.com Ltd.^1,2		18,259,509		97,727,000

		IT Consulting & Other Services (5.66%)
	800,000	Endava plc, ADR^1,2		25,722,265		67,752,000
	1,000,000	Gartner, Inc.¹		14,988,362		182,550,000
	2,500,000	Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc.¹		24,881,764		39,825,000

				65,592,391		290,127,000

		Systems Software (0.47%)
	682,429	Jamf Holding Corp.^1,4		19,287,457		24,103,392

	Total Information Technology			386,867,508		1,287,029,634


Materials (2.63%)
		Metal & Glass Containers (0.96%)
	800,000	Berry Global Group, Inc.¹		12,652,147		49,120,000

		Specialty Chemicals (1.67%)
	1,809,631	Avient Corp.		57,788,524		85,541,257

	Total Materials			70,440,671		134,661,257


Real Estate (4.21%)
		Specialized REITs (4.21%)
	2,800,000	Americold Realty Trust⁴		63,378,545		107,716,000
	390,000	SBA Communications Corp.		1,571,136		108,244,500

	Total Real Estate			64,949,681		215,960,500


Special Purpose Acquisition Company (0.36%)
	1,700,000	TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp., Cl A¹		20,483,708		18,462,000

	Total Common Stocks			1,905,570,032		5,059,823,140

Shares

Cost

Value

Warrants (0.09%)

Consumer Discretionary (0.03%)

Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines (0.03%)

260,850

OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd. Warrants, Exp 3/19/2024^1,2,4,6

1,429,458

Consumer Staples (0.06%)

Packaged Foods & Meats (0.06%)

1,403,600

Whole Earth Brands, Inc., Exp 6/25/2025^1,5,7

2,989,668

Total Warrants

4,419,126

Principal Amount

Short Term Investments (1.16%)

$59,652,174

Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $59,652,174; (Fully collateralized by $59,355,700 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.750% due 6/15/2022; Market value - $60,845,300)⁶

59,652,174

Total Investments (100.00%)

1,965,222,206

5,123,894,440

Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.00%)

209,682

Net Assets

5,124,104,122

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $37.79 per share
based on 44,692,547 shares outstanding)

1,689,014,466

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $40.01 per share
based on 79,391,887 shares outstanding)

3,176,755,703

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $40.00 per share
based on 6,458,323 shares outstanding)

258,333,953

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	See Note 10 regarding “Affiliated” companies.

⁴	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁵	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $2,989,668 or 0.06% of net assets. This security is not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁶	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁷	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

^144A

Security is exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. This security may be resold in transactions that are exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At March 31, 2021, the market value of Rule 144A securities amounted to $45,375,000 or 0.89% of net assets.

^ADR	American Depositary Receipt.

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		21


Baron Opportunity Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (95.01%)
Communication Services (21.11%)
		Interactive Home Entertainment (1.70%)
	114,000	Electronic Arts, Inc.	$	13,119,491	$	15,432,180
	62,500	Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.¹		7,289,993		11,043,750

				20,409,484		26,475,930

		Interactive Media & Services (18.59%)
	38,750	Alphabet, Inc., Cl C¹		51,382,869		80,159,413
	123,200	Facebook, Inc., Cl A¹		27,428,488		36,286,096
	453,000	Pinterest, Inc., Cl A¹		14,206,060		33,535,590
	444,000	Snap, Inc., Cl A¹		6,700,597		23,216,760
	995,000	Tripadvisor, Inc.¹		34,557,597		53,521,050
	200,803	Zillow Group, Inc., Cl C¹		12,806,582		26,032,101
	738,369	ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., Cl A¹		23,975,490		36,106,244

				171,057,683		288,857,254

		Movies & Entertainment (0.82%)
	24,425	Netflix, Inc.¹		3,966,732		12,741,545

	Total Communication Services			195,433,899		328,074,729


Consumer Discretionary (15.02%)
		Automobile Manufacturers (2.92%)
	67,900	Tesla, Inc.¹		2,677,715		45,352,447

		Automotive Retail (0.55%)
	218,416	Vroom, Inc.¹		4,805,152		8,516,040

		Home Furnishings (1.07%)
	525,000	Purple Innovation, Inc.¹		11,061,987		16,616,250

		Homebuilding (0.86%)
	121,000	Installed Building Products, Inc.		8,683,151		13,416,480

		Internet & Direct Marketing Retail (9.62%)
	121,500	Alibaba Group Holding Limited, ADR^1,2		21,563,071		27,547,695
	24,275	Amazon.com, Inc.¹		29,742,116		75,108,792
	293,900	Farfetch Limited, Cl A^1,2		13,864,220		15,582,578
	8,529	MercadoLibre, Inc.¹		4,838,488		12,555,882
	378,000	Stitch Fix, Inc., Cl A¹		21,904,510		18,726,120

				91,912,405		149,521,067

	Total Consumer Discretionary			119,140,410		233,422,284


Financials (0.44%)
		Financial Exchanges & Data (0.44%)
	13,600	MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.		2,665,441		6,771,712


Health Care (14.98%)
		Biotechnology (6.47%)
	186,779	Acceleron Pharma, Inc.¹		12,561,437		25,329,100
	92,639	argenx SE, ADR^1,2		7,632,090		25,511,854
	416,600	Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc.¹		17,476,688		27,624,746
	91,200	Beam Therapeutics, Inc.¹		8,114,787		7,299,648
	239,400	BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.¹		16,214,026		14,747,040

				61,999,028		100,512,388

		Health Care Equipment (3.52%)
	600,000	Butterfly Network, Inc.^1,3,6		6,000,000		9,978,000
	131,100	Edwards Lifesciences Corp.¹		7,561,453		10,965,204
	20,435	Intuitive Surgical, Inc.¹		9,530,452		15,100,239
	143,000	Shockwave Medical, Inc.¹		7,156,673		18,627,180

				30,248,578		54,670,623


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Health Care (continued)

		Health Care Technology (0.87%)
	116,374	Schrödinger, Inc.¹	$	2,485,556	$	8,878,173
	17,800	Veeva Systems, Inc., Cl A¹		2,595,015		4,650,072

				5,080,571		13,528,245

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (4.12%)
	50,419	10X Genomics, Inc., Cl A¹		3,006,785		9,125,839
	237,500	CareDx, Inc.^1,4		7,559,618		16,171,375
	98,637	Guardant Health, Inc.^1,4		10,366,504		15,056,938
	24,215	Illumina, Inc.¹		3,798,485		9,300,013
	63,300	Olink Holding AB, ADR^1,2,4		1,266,000		2,278,800
	364,685	Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.¹		1,630,142		12,147,657

				27,627,534		64,080,622

	Total Health Care			124,955,711		232,791,878


Industrials (3.83%)
		Aerospace & Defense (1.13%)
	642,969	Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.¹		10,282,149		17,540,194

		Diversified Support Services (0.55%)
	248,451	ACV Auctions, Inc., Cl A^1,4		7,147,142		8,598,889

		Industrial Machinery (0.48%)
	500,000	Desktop Metal, Inc.¹		5,000,000		7,450,000

		Research & Consulting Services (1.67%)
	31,533	CoStar Group, Inc.¹		12,772,623		25,916,658

	Total Industrials			35,201,914		59,505,741


Information Technology (35.88%)
		Application Software (10.24%)
	34,900	Adobe, Inc.¹		8,174,023		16,590,413
	304,070	Ceridian HCM Holding, Inc.¹		20,975,499		25,623,979
	224,100	Guidewire Software, Inc.¹		10,970,562		22,775,283
	21,000	HubSpot, Inc.¹		10,883,861		9,538,410
	96,200	RingCentral, Inc., Cl A¹		17,885,529		28,656,056
	28,700	ServiceNow, Inc.^1,4		4,422,004		14,353,157
	51,300	Splunk, Inc.¹		4,330,299		6,950,124
	13,141	The Trade Desk, Inc., Cl A¹		532,056		8,563,464
	72,700	Workday, Inc., Cl A¹		17,226,487		18,060,861
	24,907	Zoom Video Communications, Inc., Cl A¹		4,377,909		8,002,370

				99,778,229		159,114,117

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (6.48%)
	3,000	Adyen N.V., 144A (Netherlands)^1,2,5		2,422,754		6,694,212
	76,300	MasterCard Incorporated, Cl A		17,942,018		27,166,615
	119,700	PayPal Holdings, Inc.¹		17,717,325		29,067,948
	26,000	Square, Inc., Cl A¹		3,741,168		5,903,300
	150,300	Visa, Inc., Cl A		25,332,806		31,823,019

				67,156,071		100,655,094

		Electronic Equipment & Instruments (1.04%)
	248,000	PAR Technology Corp.¹		9,295,681		16,221,680

		Internet Services & Infrastructure (2.61%)
	220,677	GDS Holdings Limited, ADR^1,2		11,246,222		17,894,698
	383,270	GDS Holdings Limited, Cl A (Hong Kong)^1,2,5		4,040,136		3,900,001
	67,043	Wix.com Ltd.^1,2		3,803,923		18,719,746

				19,090,281		40,514,445


22		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Opportunity Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Information Technology (continued)

		IT Consulting & Other Services (2.88%)
	207,368	Endava plc, ADR^1,2	$	7,055,069	$	17,561,996
	149,187	Gartner, Inc.¹		9,851,807		27,234,087

				16,906,876		44,796,083

		Semiconductors (1.69%)
	49,100	NVIDIA Corp.		16,600,179		26,215,963

		Systems Software (10.94%)
	61,723	Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc., Cl A¹		3,067,061		11,265,065
	578,600	Microsoft Corporation		98,732,857		136,416,522
	61,708	Snowflake, Inc., Cl A^1,4		7,404,960		14,148,410
	24,000	Twilio, Inc., Cl A^1,4		10,333,391		8,178,240

				119,538,269		170,008,237

	Total Information Technology			348,365,586		557,525,619


Real Estate (2.87%)
		Industrial REITs (0.73%)
	225,985	Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc.		9,155,929		11,389,644

		Real Estate Services (1.52%)
	1,112,230	Opendoor Technologies, Inc.¹		11,122,300		23,568,153

		Specialized REITs (0.62%)
	14,225	Equinix, Inc.		2,122,124		9,667,168

	Total Real Estate			22,400,353		44,624,965


Special Purpose Acquisition Company (0.88%)
	397,909	Altimeter Growth Corp.^1,2		3,979,090		4,862,448
	533,410	ION Acquisition Corp. 1 Limited^1,2		5,394,125		5,547,464
	317,572	ION Acquisition Corp. 2 Limited^1,2		3,175,720		3,226,532

	Total Special Purpose Acquisition Company			12,548,935		13,636,444

	Total Common Stocks			860,712,249		1,476,353,372


Private Common Stocks (0.19%)
Industrials (0.19%)
		Aerospace & Defense (0.19%)
	4,113	Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl A^1,3,4,6		1,727,419		1,727,419
	2,806	Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl C^1,3,4,6		1,178,492		1,178,492

	Total Private Common Stocks			2,905,911		2,905,911


Private Convertible Preferred Stocks (1.83%)
Consumer Discretionary (1.27%)
		Automobile Manufacturers (1.27%)
	484,183	Rivian Automotive, Inc., Series E^1,3,4,6		7,499,995		15,760,157
	122,117	Rivian Automotive, Inc., Series F^1,3,4,6		4,500,011		4,053,063

	Total Consumer Discretionary			12,000,006		19,813,220


Materials (0.56%)
		Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals (0.56%)
	219,321	Farmers Business Network, Inc., Series F^1,3,4,6		7,250,007		8,639,054

	Total Private Convertible Preferred Stocks			19,250,013		28,452,274

Shares

Cost

Value

Private Preferred Stocks (0.92%)

Industrials (0.92%)

Aerospace & Defense (0.50%)

18,519

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl N^1,3,4,6

5,000,130

7,777,794

Trucking (0.42%)

266,956

GM Cruise Holdings, Cl G^1,3,4^,6

7,034,290

6,529,744

Total Private Preferred Stocks

12,034,420

14,307,538

Principal Amount

Short Term Investments (2.51%)

$39,043,528

Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $39,043,528; (Fully collateralized by $38,849,500 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.75% due 6/15/2022; Market value - $39,824,473)⁵

39,043,528

Total Investments (100.46%)

933,946,121

1,561,062,623

Liabilities Less Cash and Other Assets (-0.46%)

(7,165,547

)

Net Assets

1,553,897,076

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $40.36 per share
based on 21,148,874 shares outstanding)

853,553,289

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $42.49 per share
based on 15,715,176 shares outstanding)

667,758,289

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $42.54 per share
based on 765,994 shares outstanding)

32,585,498

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $55,643,723 or 3.58% of net assets. These securities are not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁴	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁵	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁶	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

^ADR	American Depositary Receipt.

^144A

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		23


Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (96.99%)
Communication Services (12.63%)
		Interactive Media & Services (12.63%)
	11,490	Alphabet, Inc., Cl A¹	$	17,696,237	$	23,698,355
	10,283	Alphabet, Inc., Cl C¹		4,420,382		21,271,722
	112,504	Facebook, Inc., Cl A¹		14,997,256		33,135,803
	301,416	ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., Cl A¹		9,285,584		14,739,243

	Total Communication Services			46,399,459		92,845,123


Consumer Discretionary (13.71%)
		Internet & Direct Marketing Retail (13.71%)
	1,107	Airbnb, Inc., Cl A^1,3		75,276		208,050
	104,576	Alibaba Group Holding Limited, ADR^1,2		10,970,281		23,710,517
	19,267	Amazon.com, Inc.¹		8,804,069		59,613,639
	11,730	MercadoLibre, Inc.¹		7,042,091		17,268,202

	Total Consumer Discretionary			26,891,717		100,800,408


Financials (2.17%)
		Financial Exchanges & Data (2.17%)
	45,219	S&P Global, Inc.		10,911,824		15,956,428


Health Care (17.71%)
		Biotechnology (6.17%)
	112,455	Acceleron Pharma, Inc.¹		11,815,692		15,250,022
	39,796	argenx SE, ADR^1,2		12,075,922		10,959,420
	130,561	BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.¹		8,189,064		8,042,558
	51,693	Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated¹		8,879,475		11,108,309

				40,960,153		45,360,309

		Health Care Equipment (2.95%)
	29,324	Intuitive Surgical, Inc.¹		11,905,212		21,668,676

		Health Care Technology (3.57%)
	100,453	Veeva Systems, Inc., Cl A¹		7,493,347		26,242,342

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (5.02%)
	90,959	10X Genomics, Inc., Cl A¹		9,317,473		16,463,579
	53,181	Illumina, Inc.¹		8,362,363		20,424,695

				17,679,836		36,888,274

	Total Health Care			78,038,548		130,159,601


Information Technology (48.78%)
		Application Software (12.65%)
	52,852	Adobe, Inc.¹		26,370,292		25,124,255
	75,234	RingCentral, Inc., Cl A¹		16,066,957		22,410,704
	52,465	ServiceNow, Inc.^1,3		20,133,101		26,238,271
	132,140	Slack Technologies, Inc., Cl A¹		2,873,189		5,368,848
	101,984	Splunk, Inc.¹		14,186,444		13,816,793

				79,629,983		92,958,871

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (12.15%)
	6,218	Adyen N.V., 144A (Netherlands)^1,2,5		4,711,862		13,874,871
	77,774	MasterCard Incorporated, Cl A		7,508,689		27,691,433
	75,361	PayPal Holdings, Inc.¹		15,850,110		18,300,665
	35,405	Square, Inc., Cl A¹		8,199,645		8,038,705
	100,918	Visa, Inc., Cl A		6,191,852		21,367,368

				42,462,158		89,273,042


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Information Technology (continued)

		Internet Services & Infrastructure (5.98%)
	21,207	GDS Holdings Limited, ADR^1,2	$	1,880,717	$	1,719,676
	1,149,809	GDS Holdings Limited, Cl A (Hong Kong)^1,2,5		12,120,397		11,699,992
	9,944	Shopify, Inc., Cl A^1,2		11,799,650		11,003,036
	70,014	Wix.com Ltd.^1,2		9,796,907		19,549,309

				35,597,671		43,972,013

		IT Consulting & Other Services (3.43%)
	63,602	EPAM Systems, Inc.¹		9,148,341		25,230,277

		Semiconductor Equipment (3.29%)
	39,157	ASML Holding N.V.²		4,042,938		24,173,966

		Semiconductors (1.14%)
	15,726	NVIDIA Corp.		8,309,989		8,396,583

		Systems Software (10.14%)
	89,272	Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc., Cl A¹		5,082,128		16,293,033
	83,835	Datadog, Inc., Cl A^1,3		2,263,545		6,986,809
	256,769	Dynatrace, Inc.^1,3		11,122,881		12,386,536
	47,896	Snowflake, Inc., Cl A^1,3		5,747,520		10,981,595
	81,789	Twilio, Inc., Cl A^1,3		11,034,337		27,870,420

				35,250,411		74,518,393

	Total Information Technology			214,441,491		358,523,145


Real Estate (1.99%)
		Specialized REITs (1.99%)
	21,508	Equinix, Inc.		4,587,575		14,616,622

	Total Common Stocks			381,270,614		712,901,327


Private Common Stocks (0.12%)
Industrials (0.12%)
		Aerospace & Defense (0.12%)
	1,234	Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl A^1,3,4,6		518,268		518,268
	841	Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Cl C^1,3,4,6		353,211		353,211

	Total Private Common Stocks			871,479		871,479


Private Convertible Preferred Stocks (0.37%)
Consumer Discretionary (0.37%)
		Automobile Manufacturers (0.37%)
	81,411	Rivian Automotive, Inc., Series F^1,3,4,6		2,999,995		2,702,031


Private Preferred Stocks (0.44%)
Industrials (0.44%)
		Trucking (0.44%)
	133,288	GM Cruise Holdings, Cl G^1,3,4,6		3,512,139		3,260,225


24		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021

Principal Amount

Cost

Value

Short Term Investments (1.45%)

$10,669,952

Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $10,669,952; (Fully collateralized by $10,661,300 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.125% due 2/28/2025; Market value - $10,883,382)⁵

10,669,952

Total Investments (99.37%)

399,324,179

730,405,014

Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.63%)

4,623,663

Net Assets

735,028,677

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $49.37 per share
based on 3,453,259 shares outstanding)

170,498,044

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $50.64 per share
based on 10,456,474 shares outstanding)

529,480,804

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $50.65 per share
based on 691,954 shares outstanding)

35,049,829

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁴	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $6,833,735 or 0.93% of net assets. These securities are not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁵	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁶	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

^ADR	American Depositary Receipt.

^144A

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		25


Baron Discovery Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (91.91%)
Communication Services (6.31%)
		Advertising (1.65%)
	3,875,000	S4 Capital PLC (United Kingdom)^1,2	$	12,841,181	$	27,030,883

		Interactive Media & Services (2.70%)
	825,000	Tripadvisor, Inc.¹		28,690,867		44,376,750

		Movies & Entertainment (0.43%)
	185,000	Liberty Media Corporation-Liberty Formula One, Cl A¹		5,634,811		7,070,700

		Publishing (1.53%)
	950,000	Future PLC (United Kingdom)^2,5		18,404,637		25,081,557

	Total Communication Services			65,571,496		103,559,890


Consumer Discretionary (9.72%)
		Casinos & Gaming (3.80%)
	7,750,000	Melco International Development Ltd. (Hong Kong)^1,2,5		15,367,373		15,820,123
	200,371	Penn National Gaming, Inc.¹		3,563,946		21,006,896
	785,000	Red Rock Resorts, Inc., Cl A¹		19,609,533		25,583,150

				38,540,852		62,410,169

		General Merchandise Stores (0.53%)
	100,000	Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc.¹		6,206,447		8,700,000

		Home Furnishings (0.58%)
	300,000	Purple Innovation, Inc.¹		5,545,475		9,495,000

		Home Improvement Retail (2.04%)
	350,000	Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., Cl A¹		11,227,099		33,418,000

		Internet & Direct Marketing Retail (1.46%)
	450,000	MYT Netherlands Parent BV, ADR^1,2,3		11,700,000		12,717,000
	500,000	The RealReal, Inc.¹		9,914,928		11,315,000

				21,614,928		24,032,000

		Restaurants (0.79%)
	200,000	The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.¹		4,145,091		11,702,000
	10,000	Wingstop, Inc.		874,199		1,271,700

				5,019,290		12,973,700

		Specialty Stores (0.52%)
	385,000	Petco Health & Wellness Co., Inc.¹		7,838,663		8,531,600

	Total Consumer Discretionary			95,992,754		159,560,469


Consumer Staples (3.10%)
		Packaged Foods & Meats (1.71%)
	1,050,000	Barfresh Food Group, Inc.¹		597,200		504,000
	75,000	Laird Superfood, Inc.¹		1,650,000		2,810,250
	1,000,000	UTZ Brands, Inc.		16,340,000		24,790,000

				18,587,200		28,104,250

		Soft Drinks (1.39%)
	775,000	Fevertree Drinks PLC (United Kingdom)²		23,289,536		22,864,067

	Total Consumer Staples			41,876,736		50,968,317


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)
Financials (3.25%)
		Insurance Brokers (1.24%)
	750,007	BRP Group, Inc., Cl A¹	$	15,155,098	$	20,437,691

		Property & Casualty Insurance (2.01%)
	200,000	Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.		11,871,719		32,960,000

	Total Financials			27,026,817		53,397,691


Health Care (24.73%)
		Biotechnology (2.79%)
	237,800	Applied Therapeutics, Inc.¹		9,274,715		4,459,939
	146,000	Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd.^1,2		6,453,537		9,979,100
	225,000	Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.¹		12,618,949		20,904,750
	373,500	Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.¹		16,262,479		10,476,675

				44,609,680		45,820,464

		Health Care Equipment (11.17%)
	615,000	Acutus Medical, Inc.¹		14,093,315		8,222,550
	580,084	AxoGen, Inc.¹		9,919,925		11,752,502
	505,982	Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc.¹		20,972,129		30,303,262
	527,500	Butterfly Network, Inc.^1,4,6		5,275,000		8,772,325
	202,500	CryoPort, Inc.¹		5,127,704		10,532,025
	308,580	Eargo, Inc.¹		9,305,920		15,413,571
	89,823	Inari Medical, Inc.¹		2,337,837		9,611,061
	707,985	Inogen, Inc.¹		32,258,659		37,183,372
	50,000	Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.^1,3		2,923,748		10,349,500
	540,208	Silk Road Medical, Inc.^1,3		21,944,575		27,361,535
	3,200,463	ViewRay, Inc.¹		15,445,290		13,922,014

				139,604,102		183,423,717

		Health Care Services (0.90%)
	323,963	Accolade, Inc.¹		9,020,518		14,698,201

		Health Care Supplies (1.70%)
	2,029,967	Cerus Corp.¹		10,431,841		12,200,102
	2,165,363	Sientra, Inc.¹		16,394,882		15,785,496

				26,826,723		27,985,598

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (4.13%)
	50,000	Berkeley Lights, Inc.¹		1,100,000		2,511,500
	499,729	CareDx, Inc.^1,3		10,068,530		34,026,548
	68,980	Seer, Inc.¹		1,310,620		3,450,380
	519,190	Veracyte, Inc.^1,3		12,884,315		27,906,462

				25,363,465		67,894,890

		Managed Health Care (1.87%)
	688,279	Progyny, Inc.¹		16,465,247		30,635,298

		Pharmaceuticals (2.17%)
	1,091,732	Revance Therapeutics, Inc.¹		22,237,562		30,513,910
	3,831,500	TherapeuticsMD, Inc.¹		16,199,094		5,134,210

				38,436,656		35,648,120

	Total Health Care			300,326,391		406,106,288


Industrials (18.94%)
		Aerospace & Defense (4.28%)
	964,870	Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.¹		16,120,727		26,321,654
	622,680	Mercury Systems, Inc.¹		33,723,391		43,992,342

				49,844,118		70,313,996


26		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Discovery Fund

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)

Industrials (continued)

		Building Products (1.23%)
	220,000	Trex Company, Inc.¹	$	7,416,878	$	20,138,800

		Diversified Support Services (1.21%)
	575,000	ACV Auctions, Inc., Cl A^1,3		17,344,950		19,900,750

		Electrical Components & Equipment (1.63%)
	638,799	Array Technologies, Inc.¹		15,809,433		19,048,986
	222,521	Shoals Technologies Group, Inc., Cl A¹		5,563,025		7,739,281

				21,372,458		26,788,267

		Environmental & Facilities Services (1.76%)
	575,723	Montrose Environmental Group, Inc.¹		9,375,974		28,895,537

		Heavy Electrical Equipment (2.42%)
	702,000	TPI Composites, Inc.¹		15,929,051		39,613,860

		Industrial Conglomerates (1.34%)
	575,000	Raven Industries, Inc.¹		15,309,417		22,039,750

		Industrial Machinery (3.04%)
	86,600	ESCO Technologies, Inc.		4,658,024		9,429,874
	300,000	Helios Technologies, Inc.		12,051,607		21,861,000
	187,500	Kornit Digital Ltd.^1,2		2,923,081		18,585,000

				19,632,712		49,875,874

		Trading Companies & Distributors (2.03%)
	25,000	Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc.^1,3		500,000		1,508,000
	186,500	SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.¹		10,148,112		31,843,010

				10,648,112		33,351,010

	Total Industrials			166,873,670		310,917,844


Information Technology (21.57%)
		Application Software (4.36%)
	25,000	Bill.Com Holdings, Inc.¹		974,421		3,637,500
	175,000	Everbridge, Inc.¹		19,518,581		21,206,500
	585,000	Medallia, Inc.¹		17,438,560		16,315,650
	575,000	Viant Technology, Inc., Cl A¹		18,963,842		30,411,750

				56,895,404		71,571,400

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (1.71%)
	500,000	Repay Holdings Corporation¹		7,499,309		11,740,000
	200,000	Shift4 Payments, Inc., Cl A¹		7,218,580		16,402,000

				14,717,889		28,142,000

		Electronic Equipment & Instruments (1.48%)
	10,431	Novanta, Inc.^1,2		272,590		1,375,745
	350,000	PAR Technology Corp.¹		6,472,283		22,893,500

				6,744,873		24,269,245

		IT Consulting & Other Services (2.32%)
	450,000	Endava plc, ADR ^1,2		13,125,641		38,110,500

		Semiconductor Equipment (5.30%)
	320,000	Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.		21,702,960		34,934,400
	535,800	Ichor Holdings Ltd.^1,2		13,502,026		28,826,040
	255,000	Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd.^1,2		8,116,968		23,207,550

				43,321,954		86,967,990

		Semiconductors (1.35%)
	875,000	Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.¹		12,250,000		22,181,250

		Systems Software (5.05%)
	333,775	Dynatrace, Inc.^1,3		6,243,606		16,101,306
	862,131	Ping Identity Holding Corp.¹		16,851,257		18,906,533
	70,000	Qualys, Inc.¹		1,963,529		7,334,600
	430,000	Sailpoint Technologies Holdings, Inc.¹		24,471,570		21,775,200
	366,000	Varonis Systems, Inc.¹		7,440,546		18,790,440

				56,970,508		82,908,079

	Total Information Technology			204,026,269		354,150,464

Shares

Cost

Value

Common Stocks (continued)

Real Estate (2.74%)

Diversified REITs (0.69%)

350,000

American Assets Trust, Inc.

9,270,189

11,354,000

Industrial REITs (1.08%)

350,000

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc.

12,654,993

17,640,000

Specialized REITs (0.97%)

415,000

Americold Realty Trust³

8,047,275

15,965,050

Total Real Estate

29,972,457

44,959,050

Special Purpose Acquisition Company (1.55%)

400,000

Jaws Spitfire Acquisition Corp., Cl A^1,2

4,095,967

4,100,000

1,979,934

Vesper Healthcare Acquisition Corp., Cl A¹

21,777,983

21,383,287

Total Special Purpose Acquisition Company

25,873,950

25,483,287

Total Common Stocks

957,540,540

1,509,103,300

Principal Amount

Short Term Investments (7.83%)

$128,573,373

Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $128,573,373; (Fully collateralized by $127,934,200 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.75% due 6/15/2022; Market value - $131,144,856)⁵

128,573,373

Total Investments (99.74%)

1,086,113,913

1,637,676,673

Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.26%)

4,287,421

Net Assets

1,641,964,094

Retail Shares (Equivalent to $36.70 per share
based on 7,224,840 shares outstanding)

265,152,962

Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $37.39 per share
based on 35,990,727 shares outstanding)

1,345,750,815

R6 Shares (Equivalent to $37.40 per share
based on 830,578 shares outstanding)

31,060,317

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁴	At March 31, 2021, the market value of restricted and fair valued securities amounted to $8,772,325 or 0.53% of net assets. This security is not deemed liquid. See Note 6 regarding Restricted Securities.

⁵	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

⁶	Level 3 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

^ADR	American Depositary Receipt.

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		27


Baron Durable Advantage Fund		March 31, 2021

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (99.82%)
Communication Services (16.91%)
		Cable & Satellite (1.47%)
	507	Charter Communications, Inc., Cl A¹	$	198,095	$	312,829

		Interactive Media & Services (15.44%)
	887	Alphabet, Inc., Cl C¹		1,426,447		1,834,875
	4,916	Facebook, Inc., Cl A¹		1,181,137		1,447,909

				2,607,584		3,282,784

	Total Communication Services			2,805,679		3,595,613


Consumer Staples (6.38%)
		Distillers & Vintners (3.06%)
	2,855	Constellation Brands, Inc., Cl A		592,731		650,940

		Hypermarkets & Super Centers (2.20%)
	1,324	Costco Wholesale Corp.		398,786		466,683

		Personal Products (1.12%)
	821	The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., Cl A		150,546		238,788

	Total Consumer Staples			1,142,063		1,356,411


Financials (17.80%)
		Asset Management & Custody Banks (2.54%)
	716	BlackRock Inc.		431,463		539,835

		Financial Exchanges & Data (13.22%)
	3,194	CME Group, Inc.		596,649		652,310
	2,839	Moody’s Corp.		616,435		847,754
	1,464	MSCI, Inc.		502,170		613,826
	1,977	S&P Global, Inc.		462,402		697,624

				2,177,656		2,811,514

		Property & Casualty Insurance (2.04%)
	11,315	Arch Capital Group Ltd.^1,2		421,351		434,157

	Total Financials			3,030,470		3,785,506


Health Care (15.08%)
		Health Care Equipment (3.71%)
	3,511	Danaher Corp.		499,101		790,256

		Life Sciences Tools & Services (8.37%)
	1,787	Agilent Technologies, Inc.		137,923		227,199
	2,983	Iqvia Holdings, Inc.¹		435,747		576,137
	189	Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.¹		121,919		218,425
	1,660	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.		563,979		757,591

				1,259,568		1,779,352

		Managed Health Care (3.00%)
	1,714	UnitedHealth Group Incorporated		455,552		637,728

	Total Health Care			2,214,221		3,207,336


Industrials (4.24%)
		Aerospace & Defense (1.46%)
	2,725	HEICO Corp., Cl A		258,043		309,560

		Research & Consulting Services (2.78%)
	6,116	IHS Markit Ltd.²		376,063		591,907

	Total Industrials			634,106		901,467


Information Technology (35.91%)
		Application Software (10.02%)
	1,850	Adobe, Inc.¹		625,447		879,434
	891	Fair Isaac Corp.¹		375,251		433,071
	995	Intuit, Inc.		351,673		381,145
	6,263	SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc.		367,681		437,596

				1,720,052		2,131,246


Shares			Cost		Value
Common Stocks (continued)
Information Technology (continued)

		Data Processing & Outsourced Services (11.11%)
	3,763	Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.	$	522,722	$	529,115
	2,508	MasterCard Incorporated, Cl A		683,226		892,973
	4,435	Visa, Inc., Cl A		950,608		939,023

				2,156,556		2,361,111

		Electronic Manufacturing Services (1.19%)
	1,958	TE Connectivity Ltd.²		186,028		252,797

		IT Consulting & Other Services (3.15%)
	2,424	Accenture plc, Cl A²		450,158		669,630

		Semiconductors (2.05%)
	2,305	Texas Instruments, Inc.		317,092		435,622

		Systems Software (8.39%)
	7,570	Microsoft Corporation		1,343,194		1,784,779

	Total Information Technology			6,173,080		7,635,185


Materials (1.19%)
		Specialty Chemicals (1.19%)
	1,180	Ecolab, Inc.		241,378		252,603


Real Estate (2.31%)

		Specialized REITs (2.31%)
	1,501	Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.³		225,447		246,614
	359	Equinix, Inc.		178,765		243,973

	Total Real Estate			404,212		490,587

	Total Common Stocks			16,645,209		21,224,708



Principal Amount
Short Term Investments (5.94%)
	$1,262,412	Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 3/31/2021, 0.00% due 4/1/2021; Proceeds at maturity - $1,262,412; (Fully collateralized by $1,256,200 U.S. Treasury Note, 1.75% due 6/15/2022; Market value - $1,287,726)⁴		1,262,412		1,262,412

	Total Investments (105.76%)		$	17,907,621		22,487,120

	Liabilities Less Cash and Other Assets (-5.76%)					(1,224,382	)

	Net Assets				$	21,262,738

	Retail Shares (Equivalent to $16.02 per share based on 303,054 shares outstanding)				$	4,855,293

	Institutional Shares (Equivalent to $16.14 per share based on 811,416 shares outstanding)				$	13,095,806

	R6 Shares (Equivalent to $16.14 per share based on 205,196 shares outstanding)				$	3,311,639

%	Represents percentage of net assets.

¹	Non-income producing securities.

²	Foreign corporation.

³	The Adviser has reclassified/classified certain securities in or out of this sub-industry. Such reclassifications/classifications are not supported by S&P or MSCI (unaudited).

⁴	Level 2 security. See Note 7 regarding Fair Value Measurements.

All securities are Level 1, unless otherwise noted.


28		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2021


	Baron Asset Fund		Baron Growth Fund		Baron Small Cap Fund		Baron Opportunity Fund
Assets:
Investments in securities, at value*
Unaffiliated investments	$	5,751,758,334	$	7,974,933,286	$	4,938,170,440	$	1,561,062,623
“Affiliated” investments		—		677,651,250		185,724,000		—

Total investments, at value		5,751,758,334		8,652,584,536		5,123,894,440		1,561,062,623
Cash		—		31,979		—		—
Receivable for shares sold		3,842,280		5,927,919		3,470,891		3,318,098
Dividends and interest receivable		519,679		2,502,446		1,153,709		54,236
Prepaid expenses		60,994		90,753		53,380		15,623
Receivable for securities sold		—		8,528,873		2,097,749		3,916,685

		5,756,181,287		8,669,666,506		5,130,670,169		1,568,367,265

Liabilities:
Payable for shares redeemed		2,103,953		8,068,413		3,765,997		1,472,304
Trustee fees payable (Note 4)		65,864		90,785		55,031		12,488
Investment advisory fees payable (Note 4)		805		262		33		165
Distribution fees payable (Note 4)		338		69		429		243
Due to custodian bank		—		—		23		2,905,911
Payable for securities purchased		—		—		2,018,896		9,944,618
Payable for borrowings against line of credit		—		16,600,000		—		—
Accrued expenses and other payables		703,574		794,950		725,638		134,460

		2,874,534		25,554,479		6,566,047		14,470,189

Net Assets	$	5,753,306,753	$	8,644,112,027	$	5,124,104,122	$	1,553,897,076

Net Assets consist of:
Paid-in capital	$	1,637,002,928	$	1,245,444,706	$	1,642,730,867	$	826,762,608
Distributable earnings/(losses)		4,116,303,825		7,398,667,321		3,481,373,255		727,134,468

Net Assets	$	5,753,306,753	$	8,644,112,027	$	5,124,104,122	$	1,553,897,076

Retail Shares:
Net Assets	$	2,706,941,432	$	2,834,998,056	$	1,689,014,466	$	853,553,289
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		24,631,638		26,884,500		44,692,547		21,148,874

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	109.90	$	105.45	$	37.79	$	40.36

Institutional Shares:
Net Assets	$	2,875,474,064	$	5,605,037,758	$	3,176,755,703	$	667,758,289
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		24,981,756		51,014,120		79,391,887		15,715,176

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	115.10	$	109.87	$	40.01	$	42.49

R6 Shares:
Net Assets	$	170,891,257	$	204,076,213	$	258,333,953	$	32,585,498
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		1,484,946		1,857,165		6,458,323		765,994

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	115.08	$	109.89	$	40.00	$	42.54


*Investments in securities, at cost:
Unaffiliated investments	$	1,895,970,102	$	1,339,216,263	$	1,868,426,083	$	933,946,121
“Affiliated” investments		—		126,811,248		96,796,123		—

Total investments, at cost	$	1,895,970,102	$	1,466,027,511	$	1,965,222,206	$	933,946,121


See Notes to Financial Statements.		29


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Unaudited) (Continued)

MARCH 31, 2021


	Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		Baron Discovery Fund		Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Assets:
Investments in securities, at value*
Unaffiliated investments	$	730,405,014	$	1,637,676,673	$	22,487,120
“Affiliated” investments		—		—		—

Total investments, at value		730,405,014		1,637,676,673		22,487,120
Cash		—		—		—
Receivable for shares sold		5,298,864		8,175,677		15,776
Dividends and interest receivable		—		201,843		3,371
Prepaid expenses		7,560		15,289		35
Receivable for securities sold		2,818,080		2,354,761		—

		738,529,518		1,648,424,243		22,506,302

Liabilities:
Payable for shares redeemed		399,213		1,359,219		476,662
Trustee fees payable (Note 4)		6,326		10,851		181
Investment advisory fees payable (Note 4)		738		840		2
Distribution fees payable (Note 4)		372		584		678
Due to custodian bank		871,479		—		—
Payable for securities purchased		2,144,107		4,936,985		729,732
Payable for borrowings against line of credit		—		—		—
Accrued expenses and other payables		78,606		151,670		36,309

		3,500,841		6,460,149		1,243,564

Net Assets	$	735,028,677	$	1,641,964,094	$	21,262,738

Net Assets consist of:
Paid-in capital	$	394,604,409	$	1,017,836,118	$	16,586,727
Distributable earnings/(losses)		340,424,268		624,127,976		4,676,011

Net Assets	$	735,028,677	$	1,641,964,094	$	21,262,738

Retail Shares:
Net Assets	$	170,498,044	$	265,152,962	$	4,855,293
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		3,453,259		7,224,840		303,054

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	49.37	$	36.70	$	16.02

Institutional Shares:
Net Assets	$	529,480,804	$	1,345,750,815	$	13,095,806
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		10,456,474		35,990,727		811,416

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	50.64	$	37.39	$	16.14

R6 Shares:
Net Assets	$	35,049,829	$	31,060,317	$	3,311,639
Shares Outstanding ($0.01 par value; indefinite shares authorized)		691,954		830,578		205,196

Net Asset Value and Offering Price Per Share	$	50.65	$	37.40	$	16.14


*Investments in securities, at cost:
Unaffiliated investments	$	399,324,179	$	1,086,113,913	$	17,907,621
“Affiliated” investments		—		—		—

Total investments, at cost	$	399,324,179	$	1,086,113,913	$	17,907,621


30		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021


	Baron Asset Fund			Baron Growth Fund			Baron Small Cap Fund			Baron Opportunity Fund
Investment income:
Income:
Dividends — Unaffiliated investments	$	8,140,759		$	27,931,820		$	6,575,357		$	989,619
Dividends — “Affiliated” investments		—			—			748,500			—
Interest		29			—			—			11
Foreign taxes withheld on dividends		—			(41,621	)		(46,613	)		—

Total income		8,140,788			27,890,199			7,277,244			989,630

Expenses:
Investment advisory fees (Note 4)		28,513,985			41,815,144			24,851,243			6,919,360
Distribution fees — Retail Shares (Note 4)		3,375,539			3,480,823			2,066,933			1,002,078
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — Retail Shares		170,350			131,170			96,430			55,440
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — Institutional Shares		57,660			104,560			56,455			15,117
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — R6 Shares		3,747			4,413			5,533			695
Reports to shareholders		496,170			456,900			487,800			79,070
Trustee fees and expenses (Note 4)		124,109			169,147			104,308			30,877
Custodian and fund accounting fees		93,795			124,254			92,540			29,289
Registration and filing fees		93,550			117,700			83,150			96,660
Professional fees		63,870			98,805			41,395			32,540
Administration fees		28,954			32,449			28,159			23,817
Line of credit fees		26,156			35,450			21,600			6,694
Insurance expense		23,408			36,939			20,612			3,111
Miscellaneous expenses		2,125			2,126			2,125			2,158

Total operating expenses		33,073,418			46,609,880			27,958,283			8,296,906
Interest expense on borrowings		—			176,767			—			—

Total expenses		33,073,418			46,786,647			27,958,283			8,296,906
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — Retail Shares (Note 4)		—			—			—			—
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — Institutional Shares (Note 4)		—			—			—			—
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — R6 Shares (Note 4)		—			—			—			—

Net expenses		33,073,418			46,786,647			27,958,283			8,296,906

Net investment income (loss)		(24,932,630	)		(18,896,448	)		(20,681,039	)		(7,307,276	)

Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments:
Net realized gain (loss) on investments sold — Unaffiliated investments		341,659,183			240,385,631			379,339,217			108,312,393
Net realized gain (loss) on investments sold — “Affiliated” investments		—			14,939,208			5,047,899			—
Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions		—			2,506			(20,746	)		(3,423	)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Investments — Unaffiliated investments		400,832,623			1,021,632,382			499,409,320			155,739,530
Investments — “Affiliated” investments		—			344,132,228			42,246,356			—
Foreign currency translations		—			(5,023	)		(2,355	)		—

Net gain (loss) on investments		742,491,806			1,621,086,932			926,019,691			264,048,500

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	717,559,176		$	1,602,190,484		$	905,338,652		$	256,741,224


See Notes to Financial Statements.		31


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) (Continued)

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021


	Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund			Baron Discovery Fund			Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Investment income:
Income:
Dividends — Unaffiliated investments	$	444,092		$	840,372		$	69,019
Dividends — “Affiliated” investments		—			—			—
Interest		—			—			—
Foreign taxes withheld on dividends		(8,198	)		—			(109	)

Total income		435,894			840,372			68,910

Expenses:
Investment advisory fees (Note 4)		2,388,359			6,643,175			56,747
Distribution fees — Retail Shares (Note 4)		236,173			279,807			5,609
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — Retail Shares		21,059			19,780			6,864
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — Institutional Shares		13,920			30,265			5,146
Shareholder servicing agent fees and expenses — R6 Shares		795			585			59
Reports to shareholders		27,215			98,840			1,062
Trustee fees and expenses (Note 4)		14,141			23,276			387
Custodian and fund accounting fees		16,954			24,191			2,126
Registration and filing fees		67,780			97,420			48,264
Professional fees		12,710			17,896			26,227
Administration fees		22,969			23,508			22,194
Line of credit fees		3,282			5,722			116
Insurance expense		1,953			3,551			212
Miscellaneous expenses		2,127			2,156			2,891

Total operating expenses		2,829,437			7,270,172			177,904
Interest expense on borrowings		—			—			—

Total expenses		2,829,437			7,270,172			177,904
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — Retail Shares (Note 4)		(18,564	)		—			(32,953	)
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — Institutional Shares (Note 4)		(15,305	)		—			(63,085	)
Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser — R6 Shares (Note 4)		(438	)		—			(15,145	)

Net expenses		2,795,130			7,270,172			66,721

Net investment income (loss)		(2,359,236	)		(6,429,800	)		2,189

Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments:
Net realized gain (loss) on investments sold — Unaffiliated investments		13,456,674			90,794,043			176,183
Net realized gain (loss) on investments sold — “Affiliated” investments		—			—			—
Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions		(1,340	)		6,879			9
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Investments — Unaffiliated investments		27,289,091			263,145,006			1,628,117
Investments — “Affiliated” investments		—			—			—
Foreign currency translations		—			5			(5	)

Net gain (loss) on investments		40,744,425			353,945,933			1,804,304

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations	$	38,385,189		$	347,516,133		$	1,806,493


32		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS (Unaudited)


	Baron Asset Fund						Baron Growth Fund						Baron Small Cap Fund
	For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020			For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020			For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets:
Operations:
Net investment income (loss)	$	(24,932,630	)	$	(31,884,054	)	$	(18,896,448	)	$	(19,420,956	)	$	(20,681,039	)	$	(32,421,633	)
Net realized gain (loss)		341,659,183			173,965,572			255,327,345			394,007,115			384,366,370			509,963,898
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		400,832,623			841,541,313			1,365,759,587			846,921,993			541,653,321			605,788,312

Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		717,559,176			983,622,831			1,602,190,484			1,221,508,152			905,338,652			1,083,330,577

Distributions to shareholders from:
Distributable earnings — Retail Shares		(83,393,943	)		(40,552,872	)		(129,485,010	)		(94,740,238	)		(172,031,316	)		(135,343,515	)
Distributable earnings — Institutional Shares		(82,971,616	)		(35,026,357	)		(238,282,887	)		(154,792,579	)		(301,283,099	)		(205,916,210	)
Distributable earnings — R6 Shares		(4,853,119	)		(1,921,115	)		(8,711,696	)		(5,468,144	)		(23,695,921	)		(14,741,046	)

Decrease in net assets from distributions to shareholders		(171,218,678	)		(77,500,344	)		(376,479,593	)		(255,000,961	)		(497,010,336	)		(356,000,771	)

Capital share transactions:
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Retail Shares		75,673,513			139,669,263			80,340,968			175,592,079			71,298,536			87,292,783
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Institutional Shares		324,919,314			564,707,309			477,067,378			729,983,269			319,906,694			460,566,456
Proceeds from the sale of shares — R6 Shares		14,078,184			25,089,988			15,476,304			45,272,784			29,328,747			55,606,956
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Retail Shares		80,591,772			39,326,659			126,236,649			92,664,059			167,569,328			132,348,628
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Institutional Shares		79,896,649			33,774,344			229,490,176			148,813,744			283,821,699			194,127,046
Net asset value of shares issues in reinvestment of distribution — R6 Shares		4,853,119			1,921,116			8,711,697			5,468,144			23,695,921			14,741,046
Cost of shares redeemed — Retail Shares		(205,988,520	)		(361,027,993	)		(315,105,202	)		(559,417,252	)		(190,820,960	)		(394,679,950	)
Cost of shares redeemed — Institutional Shares		(306,856,668	)		(514,445,516	)		(498,710,115	)		(1,046,419,927	)		(409,669,452	)		(656,020,912	)
Cost of shares redeemed — R6 Shares		(11,504,374	)		(14,512,092	)		(16,571,272	)		(36,505,282	)		(33,779,654	)		(48,024,639	)

Increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions		55,662,989			(85,496,922	)		106,936,583			(444,548,382	)		261,350,859			(154,042,586	)

Net increase (decrease) in net assets		602,003,487			820,625,565			1,332,647,474			521,958,809			669,679,175			573,287,220

Net Assets:
Beginning of period		5,151,303,266			4,330,677,701			7,311,464,553			6,789,505,744			4,454,424,947			3,881,137,727

End of period	$	5,753,306,753		$	5,151,303,266		$	8,644,112,027		$	7,311,464,553		$	5,124,104,122		$	4,454,424,947

Capital share transactions — Retail Shares
Shares sold		696,308			1,642,554			778,850			2,212,166			1,915,195			3,030,099
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		772,248			458,513			1,286,423			1,128,681			4,833,266			4,538,705
Shares redeemed		(1,912,503	)		(4,273,435	)		(3,149,344	)		(7,125,863	)		(5,159,617	)		(13,787,523	)

Net increase (decrease)		(443,947	)		(2,172,368	)		(1,084,071	)		(3,785,016	)		1,588,844			(6,218,719	)

Capital share transactions — Institutional Shares
Shares sold		2,873,622			6,359,953			4,516,356			9,162,426			8,169,114			15,418,261
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		731,587			377,789			2,246,600			1,748,898			7,737,778			6,346,095
Shares redeemed		(2,694,331	)		(5,776,850	)		(4,694,651	)		(12,778,153	)		(10,431,540	)		(21,608,710	)

Net increase (decrease)		910,878			960,892			2,068,305			(1,866,829	)		5,475,352			155,646

Capital share transactions — R6 Shares
Shares sold		125,189			283,023			146,364			550,626			744,162			1,807,365
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		44,447			21,494			85,267			64,255			646,194			482,049
Shares redeemed		(99,864	)		(161,503	)		(156,843	)		(443,847	)		(862,406	)		(1,628,737	)

Net increase (decrease)		69,772			143,014			74,788			171,034			527,950			660,677


See Notes to Financial Statements.		33


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS (Unaudited) (Continued)


	Baron Opportunity Fund						Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund
	For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020			For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets:
Operations:
Net investment income (loss)	$	(7,307,276	)	$	(6,575,772	)	$	(2,359,236	)	$	(2,018,503	)
Net realized gain (loss)		108,308,970			101,370,176			13,455,334			2,634,924
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		155,739,530			289,129,611			27,289,091			155,505,076

Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		256,741,224			383,924,015			38,385,189			156,121,497

Distributions to shareholders from:
Distributable earnings — Retail Shares		(52,365,778	)		(21,327,179	)		(689,834	)		(3,490,662	)
Distributable earnings — Institutional Shares		(32,020,901	)		(7,094,221	)		(1,548,437	)		(5,396,461	)
Distributable earnings — R6 Shares		(1,947,521	)		(1,079,435	)		(124,992	)		(703,371	)

Decrease in net assets from distributions to shareholders		(86,334,200	)		(29,500,835	)		(2,363,263	)		(9,590,494	)

Capital share transactions:
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Retail Shares		198,681,322			260,053,140			27,336,268			43,462,691
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Institutional Shares		279,510,800			280,583,112			204,087,658			131,761,478
Proceeds from the sale of shares — R6 Shares		877,385			354,601			204,569			79,881
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Retail Shares		50,408,936			20,703,884			664,220			3,365,849
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Institutional Shares		31,726,872			6,811,664			1,456,269			5,225,784
Net asset value of shares issues in reinvestment of distribution — R6 Shares		1,942,787			1,079,435			124,992			703,371
Cost of shares redeemed — Retail Shares		(143,108,670	)		(160,438,528	)		(45,151,110	)		(36,475,724	)
Cost of shares redeemed — Institutional Shares		(116,519,732	)		(94,846,299	)		(49,833,078	)		(41,814,866	)
Cost of shares redeemed — R6 Shares		(160,280	)		(107,949	)		(381,934	)		(694,165	)

Increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions		303,359,420			314,193,060			138,507,854			105,614,299

Net increase (decrease) in net assets		473,766,444			668,616,240			174,529,780			252,145,302

Net Assets:
Beginning of period		1,080,130,632			411,514,392			560,498,897			308,353,595

End of period	$	1,553,897,076		$	1,080,130,632		$	735,028,677		$	560,498,897

Capital share transactions — Retail Shares
Shares sold		4,982,383			9,635,838			550,481			1,112,952
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		1,418,771			922,633			14,013			101,381
Shares redeemed		(3,621,591	)		(6,246,974	)		(905,593	)		(1,017,802	)

Net increase (decrease)		2,779,563			4,311,497			(341,099	)		196,531

Capital share transactions — Institutional Shares
Shares sold		6,483,534			9,983,852			4,049,495			3,119,515
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		848,766			290,352			29,983			152,282
Shares redeemed		(2,748,761	)		(3,355,186	)		(964,057	)		(1,124,759	)

Net increase (decrease)		4,583,539			6,919,018			3,115,421			2,147,038

Capital share transactions — R6 Shares
Shares sold		19,487			12,697			3,651			2,041
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		51,919			45,953			2,572			20,514
Shares redeemed		(3,736	)		(4,380	)		(7,005	)		(16,337	)

Net increase (decrease)		67,670			54,270			(782	)		6,218


34		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS (Unaudited) (Continued)


	Baron Discovery Fund						Baron Durable Advantage Fund
	For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020			For the Six Months Ended March 31, 2021			For the Year Ended September 30, 2020
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets:
Operations:
Net investment income (loss)	$	(6,429,800	)	$	(5,660,071	)	$	2,189		$	14,722
Net realized gain (loss)		90,800,922			38,501,502			176,192			38,112
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		263,145,011			231,660,000			1,628,112			2,203,020

Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		347,516,133			264,501,431			1,806,493			2,255,854

Distributions to shareholders from:
Distributable earnings — Retail Shares		(6,337,567	)		(171,734	)		—			(5,349	)
Distributable earnings — Institutional Shares		(29,923,673	)		(593,926	)		—			(8,806	)
Distributable earnings — R6 Shares		(741,937	)		(10,037	)		—			(3,041	)

Decrease in net assets from distributions to shareholders		(37,003,177	)		(775,697	)		—			(17,196	)

Capital share transactions:
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Retail Shares		83,251,938			48,067,529			3,217,695			4,199,326
Proceeds from the sale of shares — Institutional Shares		419,884,182			286,987,230			4,254,687			4,452,049
Proceeds from the sale of shares — R6 Shares		13,458,829			6,223,324			567,127			1,713,710
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Retail Shares		6,287,081			170,515			—			5,215
Net asset value of shares issued in reinvestment of distributions — Institutional Shares		28,249,535			560,845			—			8,806
Net asset value of shares issues in reinvestment of distribution — R6 Shares		741,937			10,037			—			3,041
Cost of shares redeemed — Retail Shares		(42,103,923	)		(54,092,453	)		(2,834,075	)		(2,753,121	)
Cost of shares redeemed — Institutional Shares		(113,645,887	)		(149,219,982	)		(244,719	)		(2,381,959	)
Cost of shares redeemed — R6 Shares		(4,341,975	)		(1,671,275	)		—			(55,567	)

Increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions		391,781,717			137,035,770			4,960,715			5,191,500

Net increase (decrease) in net assets		702,294,673			400,761,504			6,767,208			7,430,158

Net Assets:
Beginning of period		939,669,421			538,907,917			14,495,530			7,065,372

End of period	$	1,641,964,094		$	939,669,421		$	21,262,738		$	14,495,530

Capital share transactions — Retail Shares
Shares sold		2,370,909			2,148,215			209,463			326,160
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		203,927			8,077			—			372
Shares redeemed		(1,215,266	)		(2,615,815	)		(180,443	)		(215,823	)

Net increase (decrease)		1,359,570			(459,523	)		29,020			110,709

Capital share transactions — Institutional Shares
Shares sold		11,767,688			12,803,664			273,216			338,023
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		900,240			26,183			—			624
Shares redeemed		(3,178,692	)		(7,127,814	)		(15,641	)		(177,007	)

Net increase (decrease)		9,489,236			5,702,033			257,575			161,640

Capital share transactions — R6 Shares
Shares sold		399,031			262,178			35,715			130,606
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		23,636			469			—			216
Shares redeemed		(123,844	)		(74,529	)		—			(4,279	)

Net increase (decrease)		298,823			188,118			35,715			126,543


See Notes to Financial Statements.		35


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

1. ORGANIZATION

Baron Investment Funds Trust (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company established as a Massachusetts business trust on February 19, 1987, and accordingly follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Codification Topic 946 Financial Services – Investment Companies. The Trust currently offers seven series (individually, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”): Baron Asset Fund, Baron Growth Fund, Baron Small Cap Fund, Baron Opportunity Fund, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund, Baron Discovery Fund, and Baron Durable Advantage Fund.

Each Fund offers Retail Shares, Institutional Shares, and R6 Shares. Each class of shares differs only in its ongoing fees, expenses and eligibility requirements. Retail Shares are offered to all investors. Institutional Shares are for investments in the amount of $1 million or more per Fund. Institutional Shares are intended for certain financial intermediaries that offer shares of Baron Funds through fee-based platforms, retirement platforms, or other platforms. R6 Shares are for investments in the amount of $5 million or more per Fund. R6 Shares are available only to qualified 401(a) plans (including 401(k) plans, Keogh plans, profit sharing plans, money purchase pension plans, target benefit plans, defined benefit pension plans, and Taft-Hartley multi-employer pension plans), endowment funds and foundations, any state, county or city, or its instrumentality, department, authority, or agency, 457 plans, including 457(a) governmental entity plans and tax-exempt plans, accounts registered to insurance companies, trust companies and bank trust departments, investment companies, both affiliated and not affiliated with BAMCO, Inc. (the “Adviser”), and any entity that is considered a corporation for tax purposes, including corporate non-qualified deferred compensation plans of such corporations. Each class of shares has equal rights to earnings and assets, except that each class bears different expenses for distribution and shareholder servicing. Each Fund’s investment income, realized and unrealized gains or losses on investments and foreign currency, and expenses other than those attributable to a specific class are allocated to each class based on its relative net assets. Each class of shares has exclusive voting rights with respect to matters that affect just that class. The investment goals of the Funds are as follows:

Baron Asset Fund seeks capital appreciation through long-term investments primarily in securities of medium-sized companies with undervalued assets or favorable growth prospects.

Baron Growth Fund seeks capital appreciation through long-term investments primarily in securities of small-sized growth companies.

Baron Small Cap Fund seeks capital appreciation through investments primarily in securities of small-sized growth companies.

Baron Opportunity Fund seeks capital appreciation through investments primarily in growth companies that benefit from technology advances.

Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund seeks capital appreciation through investments primarily in securities of large-sized growth companies.

Baron Discovery Fund seeks capital appreciation through investments primarily in securities of small-sized growth companies.

Baron Durable Advantage Fund seeks capital appreciation through long-term investments primarily in securities of large-sized companies.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Funds. The policies are in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the amounts of income and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Events occurring subsequent to the date of the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and through the date of issuance of the financial statements have been evaluated for adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements.

a) Security Valuation. The Funds’ share prices or net asset values (“NAV”) are calculated as of the scheduled close of the regular trading session (usually 4 p.m. E.T. or such other time as of which the Funds’ NAVs are calculated (the “NAV Calculation Time”)) on the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) on any day the Exchange is scheduled to be open. Portfolio securities traded on any national stock exchange are valued based on the last sale price on the exchange where such shares are principally traded. For securities traded on NASDAQ, the Funds use the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. If there are no sales on a given day, the value of the security may be the average of the most recent bid and asked quotations on such exchange or the last sale price from a prior day. Where market quotations are not readily available, or, if in the Adviser’s judgment, they do not accurately reflect the fair value of a security, or an event occurs after the market close but before the Funds are priced that materially affects the value of a security, the security will be valued by the Adviser using policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”). Some of the more common reasons that may necessitate that a security be valued using “fair value” pricing may include, but are not limited to: trading of the security has been halted or suspended; or the security has not been traded for an extended period of time. The Adviser has a Fair Valuation Committee (the “Committee”) comprised of senior management representatives and the Committee reports to the Board every quarter. Factors the Committee may consider when valuing a security include whether a current price is stale, there is recent news, the security is thinly traded, transactions are infrequent or quotations are genuine. There can be no guarantee, however, that a fair valuation used by the Funds on any given day will more accurately reflect the market value of an investment than the closing price of such investment in its market. U.S. Government obligations, money market instruments, and other debt instruments held by the Funds with a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are generally valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. Debt instruments having a greater remaining maturity will be valued on the basis of prices obtained from a pricing service approved by the Board or at the mean of the bid and ask prices from the dealer maintaining an active market in that security. The value of the Funds’ investments in convertible bonds/convertible preferred stocks is determined primarily by obtaining valuations from independent pricing services based on readily available bid quotations or, if quotations are not available, by methods which include various considerations such as yields or prices of securities of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type; indications as to values from dealers; and general market conditions. Other inputs used by an independent pricing service to value convertible bonds/convertible preferred stocks generally include underlying stock data, conversion premiums, listed bond and preferred stock prices and other market information which may include benchmark curves, trade execution data, sensitivity analysis, when available, or an estimated value calculated based on the price of the underlying common share on the valuation date adjusted for accrued and unpaid dividends. Open-end investment companies, including securities lending collateral invested in registered investment company money market funds, are valued at their NAV each day.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Non-U.S. equity securities traded on foreign securities exchanges are generally valued using an independent pricing vendor that provides daily fair value adjustment factors based on information such as local closing price, relevant general and sector indexes, currency fluctuations, and depositary receipts, as applicable. Securities valued using such adjustment factors are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. The models of the independent pricing vendor generate an adjustment factor for each security, which is applied to the local closing price to adjust it for post-closing market movements up to the time the Funds are valued and translated into U.S. dollars. If the vendor does not provide an adjustment factor for a security, the security is valued based on its most recent local closing price and translated into U. S. dollars. The Adviser may also fair value securities in other situations, for example, when a particular foreign market is closed but the Funds are open. Other mutual funds may adjust the prices of their securities by different amounts.

b) Securities Transactions, Investment Income and Expense Allocation. Securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gain and loss from securities transactions are recorded on an identified cost basis for financial reporting and federal income tax purposes. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date and interest income is recognized on an accrual basis, which includes the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums. Non-cash dividends received in the form of stock, if any, are recognized on the ex-dividend date and recorded as non-cash dividend income at fair value. Certain dividends from foreign securities will be recorded as soon as the Funds are informed of the dividend if such information is obtained subsequent to the ex-dividend date. Distributions received from certain investments held by the Funds may be comprised of dividends, realized gains and returns of capital. The Funds originally estimate the expected classification of such payments. The amounts may subsequently be reclassified upon receipt of information from the issuer. The Funds are charged for those expenses of the Trust that are directly attributable to each Fund, such as advisory and custodian fees. Expenses that are not directly attributable to a Fund are typically allocated among the Funds in proportion to their respective net assets.

c) Foreign Currency Translations. Values of assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using the price of such currencies at the NAV Calculation Time. Purchases and sales of investments and dividend income are converted at the prevailing rate of exchange on the respective dates of such transactions. Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions includes gain (loss) arising from the fluctuation in the exchange rates between trade and settlement dates on security transactions and currency gain (loss) between the accrual and payment dates on dividends and foreign withholding taxes. The Funds do not isolate that portion of the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in market prices of securities held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and unrealized gain or loss from investments and foreign currency transactions on the Statements of Operations. The Funds may invest in foreign securities and foreign currency transactions that may involve risks not associated with domestic investments as a result of the level of governmental supervision and regulation of foreign securities markets and the possibility of political or economic instability, among others.

Pursuant to U.S. federal income tax regulations, gains and losses from certain foreign currency transactions and the foreign currency portion of gains and losses realized on sales and maturities of foreign denominated debt securities are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

d) Securities Lending. The Funds may lend securities to certain brokers under the terms of a master netting agreement. Upon such loans, the Funds receive collateral which is maintained by the custodian. The Funds may pay fees to the custodian for administering the securities lending program. The Funds earn interest on such collateral and earn income in the form of negotiated lenders’ fees, both of which are included in securities lending income in the Statements of Operations. Securities loaned are required to be secured at all times by collateral equal to at least 102% of the market value of the securities loaned. Risks may arise upon entering into securities lending to the extent that the value of the collateral is less than the value of the securities loaned due to the changes in the value of collateral or the loaned securities. The collateral is marked-to-market daily and settled on the next business day. The Funds may receive collateral in the form of cash or other eligible securities, such as a letter of credit issued by a U.S. bank or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government. Securities purchased with cash collateral are subject to the risks inherent in investing in these securities.

The Funds did not participate in securities lending activities during the six months ended March 31, 2021.

e) Repurchase Agreements. The Funds may invest in repurchase agreements, which are short term investments whereby the Funds acquire ownership of a debt security and the seller agrees to repurchase the security at a future date at a specified price. When entering into repurchase agreements, it is the Funds’ policy that their custodian take possession of the underlying collateral securities, the market value of which, at all times, equals at least 102% of the principal amount of the repurchase transaction. To the extent that any repurchase transaction exceeds one business day, the value of the collateral is marked-to-market to ensure the adequacy of the collateral. If the seller defaults and the market value of the collateral declines or if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization of the collateral by the Funds may be delayed or limited. The information required to be disclosed by FASB Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-11 for the Funds’ investments in repurchase agreements at March 31, 2021, including the fair value of the repurchase agreement and the amount of collateral, can be found in each respective Fund’s Statement of Net Assets.

f) Master Limited Partnerships. The Funds may invest in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). MLPs are limited partnerships or limited liability companies, whose partnership units or limited liability interests are listed and traded on a U.S. securities exchange, and are treated as publicly traded partnerships for federal income tax purposes. To qualify to be treated as a partnership for tax purposes, an MLP must receive at least 90% of its income from qualifying sources as set forth in Section 7704(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. These qualifying sources include interest, dividend, real property rent, gain from sale or other disposition of real property and income from activities such as the exploration, development, mining, production, processing, refining, transportation, storage and marketing of mineral or natural resources.

g) Federal and Foreign Income Taxes. The Trust treats each Fund as a separate entity for federal income tax purposes. Each Fund intends to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute to its shareholders substantially all of its net investment income and any net realized capital gains at least annually. None of the Funds will be subject to federal or state income taxes to the extent that they qualify as regulated investment companies and substantially all of their income is distributed.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

The Funds may be subject to foreign taxes on income and gains on investments that are accrued based upon the Funds’ understanding of the tax rules and regulations that exist in the countries in which the Funds invest. Foreign governments may also impose taxes or other payments on investments with respect to foreign securities. Such taxes are accrued as applicable.

h) Restricted Securities. The Funds may invest in securities that are restricted as to public sale in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933. Such assets are valued by the Adviser pursuant to policies and procedures approved by the Board.

i) Distributions to Shareholders. Income and capital gain distributions to shareholders are determined in accordance with income tax regulations which may differ from GAAP. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments for net investment loss, foreign currency gains and losses, reclassification of distributions, partnership basis adjustments, income from passive foreign investment companies, late-year loss deferral, post-October loss deferral, and wash sale loss deferral.

j) Commitments and Contingencies. In the normal course of business, the Funds may enter into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties, which provide general indemnification. The maximum exposure to the Funds under these agreements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Funds that have not yet occurred. However, based on experience, the Funds expect the risk of loss to be remote.

k) Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Funds consider all short term liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

3. PURCHASES AND SALES OF SECURITIES

Purchases and sales of securities, other than short term securities, for the six months ended March 31, 2021 were as follows:



Fund	Purchases		Sales
Baron Asset Fund	$	364,250,781	$	503,689,356
Baron Growth Fund		28,664,121		312,675,730
Baron Small Cap Fund		392,761,592		611,312,035
Baron Opportunity Fund		472,019,937		233,360,938
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		227,208,290		50,929,245
Baron Discovery Fund		500,010,015		209,619,728
Baron Durable Advantage Fund		7,103,140		1,085,817

4. INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEES AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

a) Investment Advisory Fees. The Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baron Capital Group, Inc. (“BCG”), serves as investment adviser to the Funds. As compensation for services rendered, the Adviser receives a fee payable monthly from Baron Asset Fund, Baron Growth Fund, Baron Small Cap Fund, Baron Opportunity Fund, and Baron Discovery Fund equal to 1% per annum of the average daily net assets of the respective Funds. The Adviser receives a fee payable monthly equal to 0.70% per annum of Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund’s average daily net assets and 0.65% per annum of Baron Durable Advantage Fund’s average daily net assets.

For Baron Opportunity Fund, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund, Baron Discovery Fund, and Baron Durable Advantage Fund, the Adviser has contractually agreed to reduce its fee or reimburse Fund expenses, to the extent required to limit the net annual operating expense ratio (excluding portfolio transaction costs, interest, dividend and extraordinary expenses), as follows:



	Annual Operating Expense Ratio Cap

Fund	Retail Shares			Institutional Shares			R6 Shares
Baron Opportunity Fund		1.50	%		1.25	%		1.24	%
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		1.00	%		0.75	%		0.75	%
Baron Discovery Fund		1.35	%		1.10	%		1.09	%
Baron Durable Advantage Fund		0.95	%		0.70	%		0.70	%

b) Distribution Fees. Baron Capital, Inc. (“BCI”), a wholly owned subsidiary of BCG, is a registered limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of the Funds’ shares. The Funds are authorized to pay BCI a distribution fee payable monthly pursuant to a distribution plan under Rule 12b-1 of the 1940 Act equal to 0.25% per annum of the Retail Shares’ average daily net assets of the respective Funds.

c) Trustee Fees. Certain Trustees of the Trust are interested persons (as defined by the 1940 Act) of the Trust. None of these Trustees received compensation for his or her services as a Trustee of the Trust. None of the Funds’ officers received compensation from the Funds for their services as an officer.

d) Fund Accounting and Administration Fees. The Funds have entered into an agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) to perform accounting and certain administrative services. State Street is compensated for fund accounting services based on a percentage of the Funds’ net assets, plus fixed annual fees for the administrative services.

e) Cross Trades. The Funds are permitted to purchase securities from, or sell securities to, other Funds within the Trust, the funds in Baron Select Funds, and other entities advised or subadvised by the Adviser, pursuant to “Cross-Trading Procedures” adopted by the Board. These procedures have been designed to ensure that any cross-trade of securities by the respective Baron Fund from or to another fund/other entity that is or could be considered an affiliate of a Fund under certain limited circumstances by virtue of having a common investment adviser, common officers, or common trustees complies with Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act. Further, as defined under these


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

4. INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEES AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES (Continued)

procedures, each cross-trade is effected at the current market price and with no commissions. Pursuant to these procedures, for the period ended March 31, 2021, the Funds engaged in the following cross-trades:



	Purchases		Sales		Net Realized Gains (Losses)
Baron Small Cap Fund	$	—	$	655,481	$	2,327
Baron Opportunity Fund		—		5,065,633		1,158,230

5. LINE OF CREDIT

The Funds, together with other funds in Baron Select Funds (except Baron Partners Fund), participate in a committed line of credit agreement with State Street to be used for temporary purposes, primarily for financing redemptions. Each fund may borrow up to the lesser of $200 million or the maximum amount each fund may borrow under the 1940 Act, the limitations included in each fund’s prospectus, or any limit or restriction under any law or regulation to which each fund is subject or any agreement to which each fund is a party; provided that the aggregate outstanding principal amount of all loans to any of the funds may not exceed $200 million. Interest is charged to each fund, based on its borrowings, at a rate per annum equal to the higher of the Overnight Bank Funding Rate plus 0.10% or the Overnight Federal Funds Rate plus 0.10%; plus a margin of 1.00%. An upfront fee of 0.05% is incurred on the commitment amount and a commitment fee of 0.20% per annum is incurred on the unused portion of the line of credit. Both fees are allocated to the participating funds based on their relative net assets. During the six months ended March 31, 2021, Baron Growth Fund had borrowings under the line of credit and incurred interest expense of $176,767. For the 151 days during which there were borrowings, Baron Growth Fund had an average daily balance on the line of credit of $35.8 million at a weighted average interest rate of 1.19%. At March 31, 2021, Baron Growth Fund had an outstanding balance in the amount of $16,600,000.

6. RESTRICTED SECURITIES

At March 31, 2021, investments in securities included securities that are restricted and/or illiquid. Restricted securities are often purchased in private placement transactions, are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, may have contractual restrictions on resale and are valued pursuant to the policies and procedures for fair value pricing approved by the Board. A security may be considered illiquid if it lacks a readily available market or if its valuation has not changed for a certain period of time. The Funds may receive more or less than this valuation in an actual sale and that difference could be material. At March 31, 2021, the Funds held investments in restricted and/or illiquid securities that were valued pursuant to policies and procedures for fair value pricing as follows:



	Baron Asset Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Private Preferred Stocks
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.		8/4/2020	$	40,444,197

(Cost $26,000,460)(0.70% of Net Assets)

	Baron Growth Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Farmers Business Network, Inc.		7/31/2020	$	13,464,999
Northvolt AB		9/21/2020		11,729,854
Zymergen, Inc.		7/29/2020		12,123.604


Total Restricted Securities			$	37,318,457

(Cost $30,024,991)^†(0.43% of Net Assets)

	Baron Small Cap Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Warrants
Whole Earth Brands, Inc.		6/25/2020	$	2,989,668

(Cost $0) (0.06% of Net Assets)

†	See Statements of Net Assets for cost of individual securities.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

6. RESTRICTED SECURITIES (Continued)



	Baron Opportunity Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Common Stocks
Butterfly Network, Inc.		2/12/2021	$	9,978,000

Private Common Stocks
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.		3/25/21		2,905,911

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Farmers Business Network, Inc.		7/31/2020		8,639,054
Rivian Automotive, Inc.		7/10/2020-1/19/2021		19,813,220

Private Preferred Stocks
GM Cruise Holdings LLC		1/19/2021		6,529,744
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.		8/4/2020		7,777,794


Total Restricted Securities			$	55,643,723

(Cost $40,190,344)^†(3.58% of Net Assets)

	Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Private Common Stocks
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.		3/25/2021	$	871,479

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Rivian Automotive, Inc.		1/19/2021		2,702,031

Private Preferred Stocks
GM Cruise Holdings LLC		1/19/2021		3,260,225


Total Restricted Securities			$	6,833,735

(Cost $7,383,613)^†(0.93% of Net Assets)

	Baron Discovery Fund

Name of Issuer	Acquisition Date(s)		Value
Common Stocks
Butterfly Network, Inc.		2/12/2021	$	8,772,325

(Cost $5,275,000)(0.53% of Net Assets)

†	See Statements of Net Assets for cost of individual securities.

7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Fair value is defined by GAAP as the price that the Funds would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. GAAP provides a three-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Funds. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Funds’ own assumptions based on the best information available in the circumstances. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three broad Levels listed below.

•

Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

•

Level 2 — prices determined using other inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly through corroboration with observable market data (which could include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, interest rates, credit risk, etc.);

•

Level 3 — prices determined using unobservable inputs when quoted prices or observable inputs are unavailable, such as when there is little or no market activity for an asset or liability (unobservable inputs reflect each Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of assets or liabilities and would be based on the best information available).

The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk or liquidity associated with investing in those securities. For example, non-U.S. securities, with markets that close hours before the Funds value their holdings, may require revised valuations to more accurately reflect their fair value. Since these values obtained from quoted prices in an active market are adjusted, such securities are reflected as Level 2.

The Funds have procedures to determine the fair value of securities and other financial instruments for which market prices are not readily available or which may not be reliably priced. Under these procedures, the Funds primarily employ a market-based approach that may use related or comparable assets or liabilities, recent transactions, market multiples, book values, and other relevant information for the investment to determine its fair value. The Funds may also use an income-based valuation approach in


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Continued)

which the anticipated future cash flows of the investment are discounted to calculate fair value. Discounts may also be applied due to the nature or duration of any restrictions on the disposition of the investments. Due to the inherent uncertainty of valuations of such investments, the fair values may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had an active market existed.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of March 31, 2021 in valuing the Funds’ investments carried at fair value:



	Baron Asset Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	5,706,493,867	$	—	$	—	$	5,706,493,867
Private Preferred Stocks		—		—		40,444,197		40,444,197
Short Term Investments		—		4,820,270		—		4,820,270

Total Investments	$	5,706,493,867	$	4,820,270	$	40,444,197	$	5,751,758,334


	Baron Growth Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	8,614,737,177	$	—	$	—	$	8,614,737,177
Private Convertible Preferred Stocks^†		—		—		37,318,457		37,318,457
Warrants		—		528,902		—		528,902

Total Investments	$	8,614,737,177	$	528,902	$	37,318,457	$	8,652,584,536


	Baron Small Cap Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	5,059,823,140	$	—	$	—	$	5,059,823,140
Warrants^†		—		1,429,458		2,989,668		4,419,126
Short Term Investments		—		59,652,174		—		59,652,174

Total Investments	$	5,059,823,140	$	61,081,632	$	2,989,668	$	5,123,894,440


	Baron Opportunity Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	1,455,781,159	$	10,594,213	$	9,978,000	$	1,476,353,372
Private Common Stocks		—		—		2,905,911		2,905,911
Private Convertible Preferred Stocks^†		—		—		28,452,274		28,452,274
Private Preferred Stocks^†		—		—		14,307,538		14,307,538
Short Term Investments		—		39,043,528		—		39,043,528

Total Investments	$	1,455,781,159	$	49,637,741	$	55,643,723	$	1,561,062,623

†	See Statements of Net Assets for additional detailed categorizations.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Continued)



	Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	687,326,464	$	25,574,863	$	—	$	712,901,327
Private Common Stocks						871,479		871,479
Private Convertible Preferred Stocks		—		—		2,702,031		2,702,031
Private Preferred Stocks		—		—		3,260,225		3,260,225
Short Term Investments		—		10,669,952		—		10,669,952

Total Investments	$	687,326,464	$	36,244,815	$	6,833,735	$	730,405,014


	Baron Discovery Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	1,459,429,295	$	40,901,680	$	8,772,325	$	1,509,103,300
Short Term Investments		—		128,573,373		—		128,573,373

Total Investments	$	1,459,429,295	$	169,475,053	$	8,772,325	$	1,637,676,673


	Baron Durable Advantage Fund

Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Common Stocks^†	$	21,224,708	$	—	$	—	$	21,224,708
Short Term Investments		—		1,262,412		—		1,262,412

Total Investments	$	21,224,708	$	1,262,412	$	—	$	22,487,120

†	See Statements of Net Assets for additional detailed categorizations.

The following is a reconciliation of investments in which unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value:



	Baron Asset Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions			Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2020
Private Preferred Stocks
Industrials	$	23,258,856	$	—	$	—	$	17,185,341		$	—	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	40,444,197	$	17,185,341

Private Partnerships
Financials		182,756		—		602,920		(182,756	)		—		(602,920	)		—		—		—		—

Total	$	23,441,612	$	—	$	602,920	$	17,002,585		$	—	$	(602,920	)	$	—	$	—	$	40,444,197	$	17,185,341


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Continued)



	Baron Growth Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions			Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2021
Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Industrials	$	8,377,635	$	—	$	—	$	3,352,219		$	—	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	11,729,854	$	3,352,219
Materials		18,350,623		—		—		7,237,980			—		—			—		—		25,588,603		7,237,980

Private Partnerships
Financials		61,517		—		202,947		(61,517	)		—		(202,947	)		—		—		—		—

Total	$	26,789,775	$	—	$	202,947	$	10,528,682		$	—	$	(202,947	)	$	—	$	—	$	37,318,457	$	10,590,199


	Baron Small Cap Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions			Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2021
Warrants
Consumer Staples	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	2,989,668	$	—	$	2,989,668	$	—


	Baron Opportunity Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions			Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2021
Common Stocks
Health Care	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	3,978,000		$	6,000,000	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	9,978,000	$	3,978,000

Private Common Stocks
Industrials		—		—		—		—			2,905,911		—			—		—		2,905,911		—

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Consumer Discretionary		7,892,183		—		—		7,421,026			4,500,011		—			—		—		19,813,220		7,421,026
Materials		6,542,346		—		—		2,096,708			—		—			—		—		8,639,054		2,096,708

Private Preferred Stocks
Industrials		4,472,894		—		—		2,800,354			7,034,290		—			—		—		14,307,538		2,800,354

Total	$	18,907,423	$	—	$		$	16,296,088		$	20,440,212	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	55,643,723	$	16,296,088


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

7. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Continued)



	Baron Fifth Avenue Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions		Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2021
Private Common Stocks
Industrials	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	871,479	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	871,479	$	—

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks
Consumer Discretionary		—		—		—		(297,964	)		2,999,995		—		—		—		2,702,031		(297,964	)

Private Preferred Stocks
Industrials		—		—		—		(251,914	)		3,512,139		—		—		—		3,260,225		(251,914	)

Total	$	—	$	—	$		$	(549,878	)	$	7,383,613	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	6,833,735	$	(549,878	)


	Baron Discovery Fund

Investments in Securities	Balance as of September 30, 2020		Accrued Premiums/ Discounts		Net Realized Gain (Loss)		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Purchases		Sales/ Distributions		Transfers Into Level 3		Transfers Out of Level 3		Balance as of March 31, 2021		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) from Investments still held at March 31, 2021
Common Stocks
Health Care	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	3,497,325		$	5,275,000	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	8,772,325	$	3,497,325

Total	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	3,497,325		$	5,275,000	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	8,772,325	$	3,497,325

Unobservable valuation inputs developed by the Adviser for significant (greater than 1% of net assets) Level 3 investments as of March 31, 2021 were as follows:

Baron Opportunity Fund

Sector

Company

Fair Value as of
March 31, 2021

Valuation Technique

Unobservable Input

Weighted Average

used on

March 31, 2021

Range used on

March 31, 2021

Private Convertible Preferred Stocks:

Consumer Discretionary

Rivian Automotive,

Inc.

$19,813,220

Combination of recent transaction, current value via comparable companies, option-pricing, and scenario analysis methods

Change in the composite equity index of comparable companies

1.66%

(1.79)% - 5.08%

Discount for lack of

marketability

12.41%

Estimated volatility of the returns of equity¹

53.53%

25.17% - 77.01%

Scenario Probabilities: Scenario A / Scenario B²

90% -10%

10% - 90%

¹	The volatility was calculated as a weighted average of the volatilities of the individual comparable companies. Some companies have a higher weight in the calculation than others.

²	Scenario A represents an IPO Event, while Scenario B represents a Liquidation/M&A Event.

8. INCOME TAXES AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

Federal income tax regulations differ from GAAP. Therefore, distributions determined in accordance with tax regulations may differ in amount or character from net investment income and net realized gain for financial reporting purposes. Net investment income (loss) and net realized and unrealized gain (loss) differ for financial statement and tax purposes due to differing treatments of net investment loss, foreign currency gains and losses, reclassification of distributions, partnership basis adjustments, income from passive foreign investment companies, late year loss deferral, post-October loss deferral and wash sale loss deferral. Financial reporting records are adjusted for permanent book/tax differences to reflect tax character. Financial records are not adjusted for temporary differences.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

8. INCOME TAXES AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS (Continued)



As of March 31, 2021, the components of net assets on a tax basis were as follows:

	Baron Asset Fund			Baron Growth Fund			Baron Small Cap Fund			Baron Opportunity Fund			Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund			Baron Discovery Fund			Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Cost of investments	$	1,895,970,102		$	1,466,027,511		$	1,965,222,206		$	933,946,121		$	399,324,179		$	1,086,113,913		$	17,907,621

Gross tax unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		3,872,889,724			7,186,746,025			3,174,152,187			637,169,248			336,048,408			585,964,294			4,591,084
Gross tax unrealized depreciation		(17,101,492	)		(189,000	)		(15,479,953	)		(10,052,746	)		(4,967,573	)		(34,401,534	)		(11,585	)

Net tax unrealized appreciation		3,855,788,232			7,186,557,025			3,158,672,234			627,116,502			331,080,835			551,562,760			4,579,499
Net tax unrealized currency appreciation (depreciation)		—			(5,023	)		(2,355	)		—			—			722			—
Undistributed (accumulated) ordinary income (loss)		(47,499,039	)		(19,440,996	)		(41,833,359	)		(8,202,754	)		(4,099,165	)		(9,246,925	)		17,266
Undistributed (accumulated) net realized gain (loss)		308,014,632			231,556,315			364,536,735			108,220,720			13,442,598			81,811,419			79,246
Paid-in capital		1,637,002,928			1,245,444,706			1,642,730,867			826,762,608			394,604,409			1,017,836,118			16,586,727

Net Assets	$	5,753,306,753		$	8,644,112,027		$	5,124,104,122		$	1,553,897,076		$	735,028,677		$	1,641,964,094		$	21,262,738


As of September 30, 2020, the Funds had capital loss carryforwards as follows:



	Baron Asset Fund		Baron Growth Fund		Baron Small Cap Fund		Baron Opportunity Fund		Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		Baron Discovery Fund		Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Short term capital loss carryforwards:
No expiration date	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	96,946


The tax character of distributions paid during the six months ended March 31, 2021 and for the year ended September 30, 2020 was as follows:



	Six Months Ended March 31, 2021				Year Ended September 30, 2020

Fund	Ordinary¹		Long Term Capital Gain		Ordinary¹		Long Term Capital Gain
Baron Asset Fund	$	—	$	171,218,678	$	—	$	77,500,344
Baron Growth Fund		—		376,479,593		—		255,000,961
Baron Small Cap Fund		—		497,010,336		—		356,000,771
Baron Opportunity Fund		5,822,164		80,512,036		—		29,500,835
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund		—		2,363,263		239,510		9,350,984
Baron Discovery Fund		—		37,003,177		—		775,697
Baron Durable Advantage Fund		—		—		17,196		—

¹	For tax purposes, short-term capital gains are considered ordinary income distributions.

The Funds follow the provisions of FASB Codification Section 740 (“ASC Section 740”) “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. ASC Section 740 sets forth a threshold for financial statement recognition, measurement and disclosure of tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. The Funds are required to recognize the tax effects of certain tax positions under a “more likely than not” standard, that based on their technical merits, have more than 50 percent likelihood of being sustained upon examination. Management has analyzed the tax positions taken on the Funds’ federal income tax returns for all open years (current and prior three years), and has concluded that no provision for federal income tax is required in the Funds’ financial statements. At March 31, 2021, the Funds did not have any uncertain tax benefits that require recognition, de-recognition or disclosure. The Funds’ federal, state and local income and federal excise tax returns for which the applicable statutes of limitations have not expired (current and prior three years) are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service and state departments of revenue.

9. OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION

As of March 31, 2021, the officers, trustees, and portfolio managers owned, directly or indirectly, 18.79% of Baron Durable Advantage Fund. As a result of their ownership, these investors may be able to materially affect the outcome of matters presented to Baron Durable Advantage Fund shareholders.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

10. TRANSACTIONS IN “AFFILIATED” COMPANIES¹


BARON GROWTH FUND

Name of Issuer	Value at September 30, 2020		Purchase Cost		Sales Proceeds		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)		Realized Gains/ (Losses)		Dividend Income		Shares Held at March 31, 2021		Value at March 31, 2021		% of Net Assets at March 31, 2021
“Affiliated” Company as of March 31, 2021:
Choice Hotels International, Inc.	$	257,880,000	$	—	$	—	$	63,990,000	$	—	$	—		3,000,000	$	321,870,000		3.72	%
Iridium Communications, Inc.		226,383,000		—		8,720,856		131,051,190		7,067,916		—		8,625,000		355,781,250		4.12	%

	$	484,263,000	$	—	$	8,720,856	$	195,041,190	$	7,067,916	$	—			$	677,651,250


No longer an “Affiliated” Company as of March 31, 2021:
Vail Resorts, Inc.	$	436,498,800	$	—	$	10,141,130	$	149,091,038	$	7,871,292	$	—		2,000,000	$	583,320,000		6.75	%

BARON SMALL CAP FUND



Name of Issuer	Value at September 30, 2020		Purchase Cost		Sales Proceeds		Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Realized Gains/ (Losses)			Dividend Income		Shares Held at March 31, 2021		Value at March 31, 2021		% of Net Assets at March 31, 2021
“Affiliated” Company as of March 31, 2021:
Installed Building Products, Inc.	$	170,431,250	$	—	$	—	$	15,292,750		$	—		$	502,500		1,675,000	$	185,724,000		3.62	%


No longer an “Affiliated” Company as of March 31, 2021:
Paya Holdings, Inc. (formerly, FinTech Acquisition Corp. III)²	$	25,775,000	$	10,583,654	$	—	$	2,001,346		$	—		$	—		3,500,000	$	38,360,000		0.75	%
Repay Holdings Corporation		88,762,203		—		6,711,771		(6,582,203	)		6,711,771			—		3,500,000		82,180,000		1.60	%
UTZ Brands, Inc.		73,390,000		—		4,847,757		26,558,215			1,578,237			246,000		3,899,907		96,678,695		1.89	%
Whole Earth Brands, Inc.		16,680,000		—		16,757,891		3,320,000			(3,242,109	)		—		—		—		0.00	%
Whole Earth Brands, Inc., Warrants Exp 6/25/2025		1,333,420		—		—		1,656,248			—			—		1,403,600		2,989,668		0.06	%

	$	205,940,623	$	10,583,654	$	28,317,419	$	26,953,606		$	5,047,899		$	246,000			$	220,208,363

¹	An “Affiliated” company (“affiliated person” as defined in the 1940 Act), is a company in which a Fund held 5% or more of the company’s outstanding voting securities at any time during the six months ended March 31, 2021.

²	No longer an “Affiliated” company due to merger with Paya Holdings, Inc. on October 19, 2020.

11. COVID-19 RISK

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic and the aggressive responses taken by many governments or voluntarily imposed by private parties, including closing borders, restricting travel and imposing prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, have had negative impacts, and general uncertainty on markets worldwide. It is not known how long such impacts, or any future impacts of other significant events described above, will or would last, but there could be a prolonged period of global economic slowdown, which may impact your Fund investment.

12. EXECUTIVE ORDER ON SECURITIES INVESTMENTS THAT FINANCE COMMUNIST CHINESE MILITARY COMPANIES

On November 12, 2020, the President of the United States issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) to prohibit, beginning January 11, 2021, U.S. persons (which includes the Funds) from transacting in certain securities and derivatives of publicly traded securities of any of 31 companies designated as a “Communist Chinese military company” (collectively with securities of certain subsidiaries of such companies and related depositary receipts that may be covered by the Order, “CCMC Securities”) by the U.S. Department of Defense (the “DOD”) or the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), unless such transactions are for purposes of divestment and occur through November 11, 2021. In the weeks following the issuance of the Order, the DOD designated an additional 13 companies as CCMCs, bringing the current total to 44 companies designated to date. Also subsequent to issuance of the Order, OFAC extended the effective date of the trading ban from January 11, 2021 to January 28, 2021. In addition, U.S. persons also are prohibited from transacting in newly designated CCMC Securities 60 days after such designation. As clarified by an amendment to the Order dated January 13, 2021, and subsequent guidance from OFAC, U.S. persons may divest their holdings in the 31 CCMCs initially designated at any time through November 11, 2021 (and have 365 days from date of designation to divest their holdings in other CCMCs).

OFAC subsequently published, on several occasions, guidance regarding compliance with the Order, including several “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs) style publications addressing the scope of, and interpretive matters regarding, compliance with the Order, as well as the Order’s application to U.S. funds that hold CCMC Securities (i.e., including mutual funds that hold CCMC Securities regardless of the size of the position relative to a fund’s total assets). Certain interpretive issues related to compliance with the Order remain open, including to what extent a U.S. person could be held liable for failing to identify an unlisted entity whose name “close matches the name” of an entity designated as a Communist Chinese military company.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) (Continued)

12. EXECUTIVE ORDER ON SECURITIES INVESTMENTS THAT FINANCE COMMUNIST CHINESE MILITARY COMPANIES (Continued)

A Fund’s holdings in CCMC Securities may adversely impact the Fund’s performance. The extent of any impact will depend on future developments, including a Fund’s ability to sell the CCMC Securities, valuation of the CCMC Securities, modifications to the Order, the issuance of additional or different interpretive guidance regarding compliance with the Order, and the duration of the Order, all of which are highly uncertain. Fund management will continue to monitor developments relating to the Order.

During the six months ended March 31, 2021, none of the Funds owned any CCMC Securities.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

BARON ASSET FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:							Less distributions to shareholders from:													Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain on investments ($)		Total from investment operations ($)		Net investment income ($)		Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		99.64		(0.55	)¹		14.20		13.65		0.00		(3.39	)		(3.39	)		109.90		13.88	²		1.30	³		(1.01	)³		2,706.9		6.54	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		82.28		(0.72	)¹		19.58		18.86		0.00		(1.50	)		(1.50	)		99.64		23.22			1.31			(0.82	)		2,498.6		9.28

2019		81.43		(0.56	)¹		6.17		5.61		0.00		(4.76	)		(4.76	)		82.28		7.82			1.30			(0.73	)		2,242.0		11.83

2018		70.87		(0.59	)¹		16.09		15.50		0.00		(4.94	)		(4.94	)		81.43		23.11			1.30			(0.79	)		2,259.7		9.87

2017		60.67		(0.48	)¹		13.48		13.00		0.00		(2.80	)		(2.80	)		70.87		22.41			1.31			(0.75	)		1,979.1		10.35

2016		60.88		(0.25	)¹		6.63		6.38		0.00		(6.59	)		(6.59	)		60.67		11.14			1.31			(0.43	)		1,802.6		12.54

2015		63.75		(0.41	)¹		1.71		1.30		0.00		(4.17	)		(4.17	)		60.88		1.81			1.31			(0.62	)		1,804.3		13.53

2014		61.37		(0.44	)¹		8.42		7.98		0.00		(5.60	)		(5.60	)		63.75		13.59			1.31			(0.70	)		2,000.5		11.26

2013		52.03		(0.34	)¹		13.44		13.10		0.00		(3.76	)		(3.76	)		61.37		27.17			1.32			(0.62	)		2,024.2		12.04

2012		49.00		(0.14	)¹		10.94		10.80		0.00		(7.77	)		(7.77	)		52.03		24.65			1.33			(0.28	)		1,845.6		13.11

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		104.08		(0.43	)¹		14.84		14.41		0.00		(3.39	)		(3.39	)		115.10		14.02	²		1.04	³		(0.75	)³		2,875.5		6.54	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		85.67		(0.52	)¹		20.43		19.91		0.00		(1.50	)		(1.50	)		104.08		23.53			1.05			(0.57	)		2,505.4		9.28

2019		84.36		(0.38	)¹		6.45		6.07		0.00		(4.76	)		(4.76	)		85.67		8.11			1.05			(0.48	)		1,979.7		11.83

2018		73.07		(0.41	)¹		16.64		16.23		0.00		(4.94	)		(4.94	)		84.36		23.43			1.04			(0.53	)		1,315.7		9.87

2017		62.30		(0.33	)¹		13.90		13.57		0.00		(2.80	)		(2.80	)		73.07		22.76			1.04			(0.50	)		1,021.0		10.35

2016		62.19		(0.10	)¹		6.80		6.70		0.00		(6.59	)		(6.59	)		62.30		11.44			1.04			(0.17	)		723.3		12.54

2015		64.87		(0.24	)¹		1.73		1.49		0.00		(4.17	)		(4.17	)		62.19		2.09			1.04			(0.36	)		719.1		13.53

2014		62.20		(0.28	)¹		8.55		8.27		0.00		(5.60	)		(5.60	)		64.87		13.90			1.04			(0.43	)		689.8		11.26

2013		52.55		(0.21	)¹		13.62		13.41		0.00		(3.76	)		(3.76	)		62.20		27.51			1.05			(0.38	)		506.1		12.04

2012		49.30		0.01	¹		11.01		11.02		0.00		(7.77	)		(7.77	)		52.55		24.99			1.06			0.02			386.7		13.11

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		104.07		(0.43	)¹		14.83		14.40		0.00		(3.39	)		(3.39	)		115.08		14.02	²		1.04	³		(0.75	)³		170.9		6.54	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		85.65		(0.52	)¹		20.44		19.92		0.00		(1.50	)		(1.50	)		104.07		23.55			1.05			(0.57	)		147.3		9.28

2019		84.35		(0.38	)¹		6.44		6.06		0.00		(4.76	)		(4.76	)		85.65		8.09			1.05			(0.47	)		109.0		11.83

2018		73.06		(0.41	)¹		16.64		16.23		0.00		(4.94	)		(4.94	)		84.35		23.43			1.04			(0.54	)		73.5		9.87

2017		62.30		(0.34	)¹		13.90		13.56		0.00		(2.80	)		(2.80	)		73.06		22.74			1.04			(0.51	)		22.5		10.35

2016⁴		53.85		(0.21	)¹		8.68		8.47		0.00		(0.02	)		(0.02	)		62.30		15.73	²		1.04	³		(0.52	)³		7.8		12.54

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	Not Annualized.

³	Annualized.

⁴	For the period January 29, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.


48		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON GROWTH FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:							Less distributions to shareholders from:														Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain on investments ($)		Total from investment operations ($)		Net investment income ($)			Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		90.65		(0.32	)¹		19.97		19.65		0.00			(4.85	)		(4.85	)		105.45		22.07	³		1.29	^2,4		(0.62	)⁴		2,835.0		0.35	³

Year Ended September 30,

2020		78.95		(0.35	)¹		15.10		14.75		0.00			(3.05	)		(3.05	)		90.65		19.08			1.30	²		(0.44	)		2,535.3		1.63

2019		80.68		(0.16	)¹		3.56		3.40		0.00			(5.13	)		(5.13	)		78.95		5.09			1.29	²		(0.21	)		2,507.0		1.93

2018		71.77		(0.17	)¹		16.98		16.81		0.00			(7.90	)		(7.90	)		80.68		25.55			1.29	²		(0.24	)		2,747.8		2.92

2017		67.13		(0.16	)¹		12.44		12.28		0.00			(7.64	)		(7.64	)		71.77		20.47			1.30	²		(0.25	)		2,666.6		3.32

2016		68.25		0.08	¹		4.83		4.91		0.00			(6.03	)		(6.03	)		67.13		7.60			1.30	²		0.12			2,917.2		4.68

2015		70.46		(0.27	)¹		1.28		1.01		0.00			(3.22	)		(3.22	)		68.25		1.27			1.29	²		(0.37	)		3,511.2		6.95

2014		68.67		0.06	¹		3.45		3.51		(0.03	)		(1.69	)		(1.72	)		70.46		5.11			1.29	²		0.08			4,076.1		13.15

2013		58.19		(0.12	)¹		16.37		16.25		(0.18	)		(5.59	)		(5.77	)		68.67		30.76			1.30			(0.20	)		4,644.2		9.63

2012		46.18		0.20	¹		12.64		12.84		0.00			(0.83	)		(0.83	)		58.19		28.12			1.32			0.38			4,073.5		13.70

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		94.15		(0.19	)¹		20.76		20.57		0.00			(4.85	)		(4.85	)		109.87		22.23	³		1.03	^2,4		(0.37	)⁴		5,605.0		0.35	³

Year Ended September 30,

2020		81.69		(0.16	)¹		15.67		15.51		0.00			(3.05	)		(3.05	)		94.15		19.38			1.04	²		(0.20	)		4,608.4		1.63

2019		83.09		0.03	¹		3.70		3.73		0.00			(5.13	)		(5.13	)		81.69		5.36			1.04	²		0.03			4,150.9		1.93

2018		73.52		0.01	¹		17.46		17.47		0.00			(7.90	)		(7.90	)		83.09		25.86			1.03	²		0.01			4,134.2		2.92

2017		68.42		0.00	^1,5		12.74		12.74		0.00			(7.64	)		(7.64	)		73.52		20.79			1.04	²		0.00	⁶		3,433.5		3.32

2016		69.28		0.24	¹		4.93		5.17		0.00			(6.03	)		(6.03	)		68.42		7.88			1.05	²		0.37			3,043.3		4.68

2015		71.33		(0.09	)¹		1.28		1.19		(0.02	)		(3.22	)		(3.24	)		69.28		1.51			1.04	²		(0.12	)		3,440.4		6.95

2014		69.32		0.20	¹		3.53		3.73		(0.03	)		(1.69	)		(1.72	)		71.33		5.39			1.04	²		0.28			3,694.5		13.15

2013		58.70		0.02	¹		16.52		16.54		(0.33	)		(5.59	)		(5.92	)		69.32		31.10			1.05			0.04			2,976.7		9.63

2012		46.46		0.45	¹		12.62		13.07		0.00			(0.83	)		(0.83	)		58.70		28.45			1.06			0.83			1,747.3		13.70

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		94.16		(0.19	)¹		20.77		20.58		0.00			(4.85	)		(4.85	)		109.89		22.24	³		1.03	^2,4		(0.36	)⁴		204.1		0.35	³

Year Ended September 30,

2020		81.70		(0.17	)¹		15.68		15.51		0.00			(3.05	)		(3.05	)		94.16		19.38			1.04	²		(0.20	)		167.8		1.63

2019		83.10		0.00	^1,5		3.73		3.73		0.00			(5.13	)		(5.13	)		81.70		5.36			1.04	²		0.00	⁶		131.6		1.93

2018		73.52		(0.00	)^1,5		17.48		17.48		0.00			(7.90	)		(7.90	)		83.10		25.88			1.04	²		(0.00	)⁶		107.4		2.92

2017		68.42		(0.11	)¹		12.85		12.74		0.00			(7.64	)		(7.64	)		73.52		20.79			1.05	²		(0.15	)		12.5		3.32

2016⁷		60.02		(0.15	)¹		8.55		8.40		0.00			0.00			0.00			68.42		14.00	³		1.05	^2,4		(0.33	)⁴		2.3		4.68

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	Interest expense rounds to less than 0.01%.

³	Not Annualized.

⁴	Annualized.

⁵	Less than $0.01 per share.

⁶	Less than 0.01%.

⁷	For the period January 29, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		49


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON SMALL CAP FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:									Less distributions to shareholders from:													Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ($)			Total from investment operations ($)			Net investment income ($)		Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		35.06		(0.19	)¹		7.04			6.85			0.00		(4.12	)		(4.12	)		37.79		20.58	²		1.30	³		(1.00	)³		1,689.0		8.23	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		29.44		(0.29	)¹		8.73			8.44			0.00		(2.82	)		(2.82	)		35.06		30.60			1.31			(0.98	)		1,511.3		16.93

2019		33.68		(0.27	)¹		(1.36	)		(1.63	)		0.00		(2.61	)		(2.61	)		29.44		(4.17	)		1.31			(0.95	)		1,451.9		13.44

2018		30.64		(0.32	)¹		7.21			6.89			0.00		(3.85	)		(3.85	)		33.68		25.00			1.30			(1.05	)		1,831.3		14.19

2017		30.59		(0.04	)¹		5.77			5.73			0.00		(5.68	)		(5.68	)		30.64		22.45			1.31	⁴		(0.15	)		1,730.3		28.95

2016		30.34		(0.18	)¹		3.84			3.66			0.00		(3.41	)		(3.41	)		30.59		12.89			1.32	⁴		(0.64	)		1,826.3		10.25

2015		33.68		(0.21	)¹		(1.10	)		(1.31	)		0.00		(2.03	)		(2.03	)		30.34		(4.32	)		1.30			(0.61	)		2,601.4		14.66

2014		32.83		(0.01	)¹		2.14			2.13			0.00		(1.28	)		(1.28	)		33.68		6.52			1.30			(0.04	)		3,192.8		16.41

2013		26.14		(0.12	)¹		7.61			7.49			0.00		(0.80	)		(0.80	)		32.83		29.51			1.31			(0.42	)		3,626.1		20.35

2012		20.84		(0.19	)¹		5.96			5.77			0.00		(0.47	)		(0.47	)		26.14		28.09			1.31			(0.76	)		3,081.8		28.02

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		36.86		(0.15	)¹		7.42			7.27			0.00		(4.12	)		(4.12	)		40.01		20.72	²		1.04	³		(0.75	)³		3,176.8		8.23	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		30.74		(0.23	)¹		9.17			8.94			0.00		(2.82	)		(2.82	)		36.86		30.96			1.05			(0.74	)		2,724.6		16.93

2019		34.95		(0.21	)¹		(1.39	)		(1.60	)		0.00		(2.61	)		(2.61	)		30.74		(3.91	)		1.05			(0.69	)		2,267.3		13.44

2018		31.58		(0.25	)¹		7.47			7.22			0.00		(3.85	)		(3.85	)		34.95		25.33			1.04			(0.79	)		2,696.7		14.19

2017		31.29		0.02	¹		5.95			5.97			0.00		(5.68	)		(5.68	)		31.58		22.76			1.05	⁴		0.06			2,404.6		28.95

2016		30.88		(0.12	)¹		3.94			3.82			0.00		(3.41	)		(3.41	)		31.29		13.21			1.06	⁴		(0.41	)		1,680.7		10.25

2015		34.16		(0.13	)¹		(1.12	)		(1.25	)		0.00		(2.03	)		(2.03	)		30.88		(4.08	)		1.04			(0.37	)		1,923.2		14.66

2014		33.20		0.06	¹		2.18			2.24			0.00		(1.28	)		(1.28	)		34.16		6.79			1.04			0.18			2,057.4		16.41

2013		26.36		(0.05	)¹		7.69			7.64			0.00		(0.80	)		(0.80	)		33.20		29.85			1.05			(0.16	)		1,775.7		20.35

2012		20.96		(0.13	)¹		6.00			5.87			0.00		(0.47	)		(0.47	)		26.36		28.41			1.05			(0.53	)		1,111.0		28.02

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		36.85		(0.15	)¹		7.42			7.27			0.00		(4.12	)		(4.12	)		40.00		20.73	²		1.04	³		(0.75	)³		258.3		8.23	²

Year Ended September 30,

2020		30.73		(0.23	)¹		9.17			8.94			0.00		(2.82	)		(2.82	)		36.85		30.97			1.05			(0.74	)		218.5		16.93

2019		34.94		(0.21	)¹		(1.39	)		(1.60	)		0.00		(2.61	)		(2.61	)		30.73		(3.91	)		1.05			(0.70	)		161.9		13.44

2018		31.57		(0.26	)¹		7.48			7.22			0.00		(3.85	)		(3.85	)		34.94		25.34			1.05			(0.82	)		155.2		14.19

2017		31.29		(0.08	)¹		6.04			5.96			0.00		(5.68	)		(5.68	)		31.57		22.72			1.06	⁴		(0.28	)		101.8		28.95

2016⁵		26.06		(0.17	)¹		5.40			5.23			0.00		0.00			0.00			31.29		20.07	²		1.06	^3,4		(0.85	)³		3.7		10.25

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	Not Annualized.

³	Annualized.

⁴	Interest expense rounds to less than 0.01%.

⁵	For the period January 29, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.


50		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON OPPORTUNITY FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:									Less distributions to shareholders from:													Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ($)			Total from investment operations ($)			Net investment income ($)		Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		35.11		(0.23	)¹		8.26			8.03			0.00		(2.78	)		(2.78	)		40.36		23.96	⁴		1.31	⁵		(1.16	)⁵		853.5		17.78	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		21.53		(0.30	)¹		15.56			15.26			0.00		(1.68	)		(1.68	)		35.11		75.25			1.34	³		(1.14	)		644.9		42.52

2019		22.02		(0.22	)¹		0.66			0.44			0.00		(0.93	)		(0.93	)		21.53		2.51			1.34	³		(1.07	)		302.6		37.10

2018		18.53		(0.22	)¹		6.36			6.14			0.00		(2.65	)		(2.65	)		22.02		37.41			1.37	³		(1.13	)		363.6		23.97

2017		16.87		(0.20	)¹		3.75			3.55			0.00		(1.89	)		(1.89	)		18.53		24.32			1.41	³		(1.18	)		201.4		32.62

2016		17.12		(0.13	)¹		1.70			1.57			0.00		(1.82	)		(1.82	)		16.87		9.19			1.41	³		(0.83	)		207.0		32.38

2015		18.61		(0.21	)¹		(0.25	)		(0.46	)		0.00		(1.03	)		(1.03	)		17.12		(2.70	)		1.38	³		(1.10	)		232.2		41.87

2014		19.26		(0.24	)¹		0.79			0.55			0.00		(1.20	)		(1.20	)		18.61		2.87	²		1.35			(1.24	)		331.2		63.40

2013		15.61		(0.17	)¹		4.06			3.89			0.00		(0.24	)		(0.24	)		19.26		25.39			1.37			(1.02	)		359.9		70.44

2012		12.83		(0.17	)¹		2.95			2.78			0.00		0.00			0.00			15.61		21.67			1.39			(1.16	)		332.4		88.56

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		36.79		(0.19	)¹		8.67			8.48			0.00		(2.78	)		(2.78	)		42.49		24.10	⁴		1.05	⁵		(0.91	)⁵		667.8		17.78	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		22.42		(0.25	)¹		16.30			16.05			0.00		(1.68	)		(1.68	)		36.79		75.82			1.08	³		(0.88	)		409.5		42.52

2019		22.83		(0.18	)¹		0.70			0.52			0.00		(0.93	)		(0.93	)		22.42		2.78			1.09	³		(0.82	)		94.4		37.10

2018		19.08		(0.18	)¹		6.58			6.40			0.00		(2.65	)		(2.65	)		22.83		37.73			1.11	³		(0.88	)		96.4		23.97

2017		17.27		(0.16	)¹		3.86			3.70			0.00		(1.89	)		(1.89	)		19.08		24.65			1.14	³		(0.92	)		51.7		32.62

2016		17.45		(0.08	)¹		1.72			1.64			0.00		(1.82	)		(1.82	)		17.27		9.44			1.13	³		(0.46	)		43.3		32.38

2015		18.89		(0.16	)¹		(0.25	)		(0.41	)		0.00		(1.03	)		(1.03	)		17.45		(2.38	)		1.10	³		(0.84	)		91.7		41.87

2014		19.49		(0.19	)¹		0.79			0.60			0.00		(1.20	)		(1.20	)		18.89		3.10	²		1.08			(0.97	)		109.4		63.40

2013		15.75		(0.13	)¹		4.11			3.98			0.00		(0.24	)		(0.24	)		19.49		25.74			1.11			(0.79	)		101.3		70.44

2012		12.91		(0.13	)¹		2.97			2.84			0.00		0.00			0.00			15.75		22.00			1.13			(0.90	)		62.5		88.56

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		36.82		(0.19	)¹		8.69			8.50			0.00		(2.78	)		(2.78	)		42.54		24.13	⁴		1.05	⁵		(0.91	)⁵		32.6		17.78	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		22.45		(0.24	)¹		16.29			16.05			0.00		(1.68	)		(1.68	)		36.82		75.71			1.08	³		(0.87	)		25.7		42.52

2019		22.86		(0.18	)¹		0.70			0.52			0.00		(0.93	)		(0.93	)		22.45		2.78			1.08	³		(0.81	)		14.5		37.10

2018		19.09		(0.17	)¹		6.59			6.42			0.00		(2.65	)		(2.65	)		22.86		37.83			1.09	³		(0.82	)		14.0		23.97

2017		17.28		(0.16	)¹		3.86			3.70			0.00		(1.89	)		(1.89	)		19.09		24.64			1.12	³		(0.89	)		1.0		32.62

2016⁶		16.88		(0.02	)¹		0.42			0.40			0.00		0.00			0.00			17.28		2.37	⁴		1.12	^3,5		(1.25	)⁵		0.5		32.38

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	The Adviser made a voluntary payment to the Fund in the amount of $140,762 to compensate the Fund for a loss incurred due to a trade processing error. The impact of this payment increased the Fund’s total return by 0.03%.

³	Interest expense rounds to less than 0.01%.

⁴	Not Annualized.

⁵	Annualized.

⁶	For the period August 31, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		51


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:								Less distributions to shareholders from:														Ratios to Average Net Assets:												Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain on investments ($)			Total from investment operations ($)		Net investment income ($)			Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Less: Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser (%)			Net operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		46.62		(0.22	)¹		3.15			2.93		0.00			(0.18	)		(0.18	)		49.37		6.30	^2,4		1.02	⁵		(0.02	)⁵		1.00	⁵		(0.87	)⁵		170.5		7.98	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		32.10		(0.26	)¹		15.77			15.51		0.00			(0.99	)		(0.99	)		46.62		49.56	²		1.05			(0.05	)		1.00			(0.70	)		176.9		11.57

2019		31.02		0.07	¹		1.01			1.08		0.00			0.00			0.00			32.10		3.48	²		1.06			(0.06	)		1.00			0.23			115.5		21.24

2018		24.04		(0.17	)¹		7.15			6.98		0.00			0.00			0.00			31.02		29.03	²		1.09			(0.08	)		1.01			(0.61	)		132.2		8.81

2017		19.35		(0.11	)¹		4.80			4.69		0.00			0.00			0.00			24.04		24.24	²		1.12	³		(0.02	)		1.10			(0.50	)		87.5		13.94

2016		16.91		(0.08	)¹		2.52			2.44		0.00			0.00			0.00			19.35		14.43	²		1.26			(0.04	)		1.22			(0.43	)		73.5		19.30

2015		16.83		(0.09	)¹		0.17	⁷		0.08		0.00			0.00			0.00			16.91		0.48	²		1.32			(0.02	)		1.30			(0.49	)		71.5		14.54

2014		14.42		(0.05	)¹		2.46			2.41		0.00			0.00			0.00			16.83		16.71	²		1.37			(0.07	)		1.30			(0.29	)		53.2		16.84

2013		11.83		0.02	¹		2.57			2.59		0.00			0.00			0.00			14.42		21.89	²		1.47			(0.17	)		1.30			0.14			47.8		22.91

2012		8.98		(0.03	)¹		2.88			2.85		0.00			0.00			0.00			11.83		31.74	²		1.55			(0.25	)		1.30			(0.30	)		34.8		79.07

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		47.75		(0.16	)¹		3.23			3.07		0.00			(0.18	)		(0.18	)		50.64		6.45	^2,4		0.76	⁵		(0.01	)⁵		0.75	⁵		(0.62	)⁵		529.5		7.98	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		32.80		(0.17	)¹		16.15			15.98		(0.04	)		(0.99	)		(1.03	)		47.75		49.93	²		0.78			(0.03	)		0.75			(0.45	)		350.5		11.57

2019		31.62		0.17	¹		1.01			1.18		0.00			0.00			0.00			32.80		3.73	²		0.80			(0.05	)		0.75			0.56			170.4		21.24

2018		24.44		(0.10	)¹		7.28			7.18		0.00			0.00			0.00			31.62		29.38	²		0.82			(0.06	)		0.76			(0.36	)		152.2		8.81

2017		19.62		(0.05	)¹		4.87			4.82		0.00			0.00			0.00			24.44		24.57			0.84	³		0.00			0.84			(0.24	)		89.5		13.94

2016		17.10		(0.03	)¹		2.55			2.52		0.00			0.00			0.00			19.62		14.74	²		0.98			(0.01	)		0.97			(0.19	)		81.9		19.30

2015		17.00		(0.04	)¹		0.16	⁷		0.12		(0.02	)		0.00			(0.02	)		17.10		0.72			1.04			0.00			1.04			(0.23	)		74.7		14.54

2014		14.53		(0.01	)¹		2.48			2.47		0.00			0.00			0.00			17.00		17.00	²		1.08			(0.03	)		1.05			(0.08	)		56.0		16.84

2013		11.89		0.05	¹		2.59			2.64		0.00			0.00			0.00			14.53		22.20	²		1.18			(0.13	)		1.05			0.36			33.8		22.91

2012		9.00		(0.01	)¹		2.90			2.89		0.00			0.00			0.00			11.89		32.11	²		1.26			(0.21	)		1.05			(0.05	)		18.9		79.07

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		47.76		(0.16	)¹		3.23			3.07		0.00			(0.18	)		(0.18	)		50.65		6.44	^2,4		0.75	⁵		(0.00	)^5,6		0.75	⁵		(0.62	)⁵		35.0		7.98	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		32.81		(0.17	)¹		16.15			15.98		(0.04	)		(0.99	)		(1.03	)		47.76		49.92	²		0.78			(0.03	)		0.75			(0.45	)		33.1		11.57

2019		31.63		0.17	¹		1.01			1.18		0.00			0.00			0.00			32.81		3.73	²		0.79			(0.04	)		0.75			0.54			22.5		21.24

2018		24.45		(0.11	)¹		7.29			7.18		0.00			0.00			0.00			31.63		29.37	²		0.80			(0.05	)		0.75			(0.37	)		21.4		8.81

2017		19.63		(0.06	)¹		4.88			4.82		0.00			0.00			0.00			24.45		24.55			0.84	³		0.00			0.84			(0.27	)		4.7		13.94

2016⁸		17.03		(0.05	)¹		2.65			2.60		0.00			0.00			0.00			19.63		15.27	^2,4		0.85	⁵		(0.01	)⁵		0.84	⁵		(0.37	)⁵		1.4		19.30

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	The total returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during the period shown.

³	Interest expense rounds to less than 0.01%.

⁴	Not Annualized.

⁵	Annualized.

⁶	Less than 0.01%.

⁷	The amount shown for a share outstanding does not correspond with the aggregate realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments for the period due to the timing of sales and redemptions of Fund shares in relation to fluctuating market values of investments of the Fund.

⁸	For the period January 29, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.


52		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON DISCOVERY FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:									Less distributions to shareholders from:														Ratios to Average Net Assets:												Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) ($)			Total from investment operations ($)			Net investment income ($)			Net realized gain on investments ($)			Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Less: Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser (%)			Net operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		28.17		(0.20	)¹		9.79			9.59			0.00			(1.06	)		(1.06	)		36.70		34.77	⁶		1.31	⁷		0.00			1.31	⁷		(1.19	)⁷		265.2		17.57	⁶

Year Ended September 30,

2020		19.41		(0.24	)¹		9.03			8.79			0.00			(0.03	)		(0.03	)		28.17		45.33			1.35			0.00			1.35			(1.09	)		165.2		43.36

2019		23.77		(0.22	)¹		(2.64	)		(2.86	)		0.00			(1.50	)		(1.50	)		19.41		(11.93	)³		1.36			(0.01	)		1.35			(1.10	)		122.7		55.94

2018		17.56		0.09	¹		6.13			6.22			(0.01	)		0.00			(0.01	)		23.77		35.41	³		1.40	⁸		(0.05	)		1.35			0.45			108.2		72.25

2017		13.40		(0.17	)¹		4.33			4.16			0.00			0.00			0.00			17.56		31.04	³		1.47			(0.12	)		1.35			(1.11	)		131.2		40.97

2016		11.13		0.16	¹		2.38			2.54			0.00			(0.27	)		(0.27	)		13.40		23.24	³		1.88			(0.53	)		1.35			1.38			18.6		90.74

2015		11.68		(0.13	)¹		(0.42	)		(0.55	)		0.00			0.00			0.00			11.13		(4.71	)^3,4		1.57			(0.22	)		1.35			(0.97	)		19.9		114.82

2014		10.00		(0.10	)¹		1.78	²		1.68			0.00			0.00			0.00			11.68		16.80	³		2.16			(0.81	)		1.35			(0.85	)		16.6		109.40

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		28.65		(0.16	)¹		9.96			9.80			0.00			(1.06	)		(1.06	)		37.39		34.92	⁶		1.05	⁷		0.00			1.05	⁷		(0.92	)⁷		1,345.7		17.57	⁶

Year Ended September 30,

2020		19.68		(0.19	)¹		9.19			9.00			0.00			(0.03	)		(0.03	)		28.65		45.77			1.08			0.00			1.08			(0.82	)		759.2		43.36

2019		24.03		(0.18	)¹		(2.67	)		(2.85	)		0.00			(1.50	)		(1.50	)		19.68		(11.75	)		1.10			0.00			1.10			(0.88	)		409.4		55.94

2018		17.74		0.01	¹		6.32			6.33			(0.04	)		0.00			(0.04	)		24.03		35.74	³		1.12	⁸		(0.02	)		1.10			0.05			280.2		72.25

2017		13.50		(0.13	)¹		4.37			4.24			0.00			0.00			0.00			17.74		31.41	³		1.23			(0.13	)		1.10			(0.85	)		113.6		40.97

2016		11.19		0.12	¹		2.46			2.58			0.00			(0.27	)		(0.27	)		13.50		23.47	³		1.49			(0.39	)		1.10			1.06			22.8		90.74

2015		11.71		(0.10	)¹		(0.42	)		(0.52	)		0.00			0.00			0.00			11.19		(4.44	)^3,4		1.25			(0.15	)		1.10			(0.72	)		53.9		114.82

2014		10.00		(0.08	)¹		1.79	²		1.71			0.00			0.00			0.00			11.71		17.10	³		1.91			(0.81	)		1.10			(0.64	)		48.7		109.40

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		28.65		(0.16	)¹		9.97			9.81			0.00			(1.06	)		(1.06	)		37.40		34.95	⁶		1.05	⁷		0.00			1.05	⁷		(0.92	)⁷		31.1		17.57	⁶

Year Ended September 30,

2020		19.68		(0.19	)¹		9.19			9.00			0.00			(0.03	)		(0.03	)		28.65		45.77			1.08			0.00			1.08			(0.83	)		15.3		43.36

2019		24.03		(0.18	)¹		(2.67	)		(2.85	)		0.00			(1.50	)		(1.50	)		19.68		(11.75	)		1.09			0.00			1.09			(0.88	)		6.8		55.94

2018		17.74		0.03	¹		6.30			6.33			(0.04	)		0.00			(0.04	)		24.03		35.75	³		1.10	⁸		(0.01	)		1.09			0.15			5.6		72.25

2017		13.50		(0.12	)¹		4.36			4.24			0.00			0.00			0.00			17.74		31.41	³		1.22			(0.13	)		1.09			(0.79	)		3.2		40.97

2016⁵		12.89		(0.01	)¹		0.62			0.61			0.00			0.00			0.00			13.50		4.73	^3,6		1.48	⁷		(0.39	)⁷		1.09	⁷		(0.66	)⁷		2.0		90.74

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	The amount shown for a share outstanding does not correspond with the aggregate realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments for the period due to the timing of sales and redemptions of Fund shares in relation to fluctuating market values of investments of the Fund.

³	The total returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during the period shown.

⁴	The Adviser made a voluntary payment to the Fund in the amount of $1,000 to compensate the Fund for a loss incurred due to a trade processing error. The impact of this payment increased the Fund’s total return by less than 0.01%.

⁵	For the period August 31, 2016 (initial offering of R6 Shares) to September 30, 2016.

⁶	Not Annualized.

⁷	Annualized.

⁸	Interest expense rounds to less than 0.01%.


See Notes to Financial Statements.		53


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Continued)

BARON DURABLE ADVANTAGE FUND

Selected data for a share outstanding throughout each period:



			Income (loss) from investment operations:							Less distributions to shareholders from:													Ratios to Average Net Assets:												Supplemental Data:

	Net asset value, beginning of period ($)		Net investment income (loss) ($)			Net realized and unrealized gain on investments ($)		Total from investment operations ($)		Net investment income ($)			Net realized gain on investments ($)		Total distributions ($)			Net asset value, end of period ($)		Total return (%)			Operating expenses (%)			Less: Reimbursement of expenses by Adviser (%)			Net operating expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets (in millions), end of period ($)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)

RETAIL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		14.47		(0.01	)¹		1.56		1.55		0.00			0.00		0.00			16.02		10.71	^3,4		2.42	⁵		(1.47	)⁵		0.95	⁵		(0.16	)⁵		4.9		6.54	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		11.77		(0.00	)^1,2		2.72		2.72		(0.02	)		0.00		(0.02	)		14.47		23.10	³		2.80			(1.85	)		0.95			(0.01	)		4.0		16.55

2019		10.74		0.03	¹		1.03		1.06		(0.03	)		0.00		(0.03	)		11.77		9.97	³		6.22			(5.27	)		0.95			0.25			1.9		13.23

2018⁶		10.00		0.01	¹		0.73		0.74		0.00			0.00		0.00			10.74		7.40	^3,4		7.45	⁵		(6.50	)⁵		0.95	⁵		0.19	⁵		0.6		5.85	⁴

INSTITUTIONAL SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		14.56		0.01	¹		1.57		1.58		0.00			0.00		0.00			16.14		10.85	^3,4		1.92	⁵		(1.22	)⁵		0.70	⁵		0.09	⁵		13.1		6.54	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		11.82		0.03	¹		2.73		2.76		(0.02	)		0.00		(0.02	)		14.56		23.34	³		2.40			(1.70	)		0.70			0.22			8.0		16.55

2019		10.76		0.06	¹		1.03		1.09		(0.03	)		0.00		(0.03	)		11.82		10.23	³		4.91			(4.21	)		0.70			0.52			4.7		13.23

2018⁶		10.00		0.04	¹		0.72		0.76		0.00			0.00		0.00			10.76		7.60	^3,4		5.71	⁵		(5.01	)⁵		0.70	⁵		0.46	⁵		3.0		5.85	⁴

R6 SHARES

Six Months Ended March 31,

2021		14.56		0.01	¹		1.57		1.58		0.00			0.00		0.00			16.14		10.85	^3,4		1.85	⁵		(1.15	)⁵		0.70	⁵		0.09	⁵		3.3		6.54	⁴

Year Ended September 30,

2020		11.82		0.03	¹		2.73		2.76		(0.02	)		0.00		(0.02	)		14.56		23.34	³		1.93			(1.23	)		0.70			0.23			2.5		16.55

2019		10.75		0.06	¹		1.04		1.10		(0.03	)		0.00		(0.03	)		11.82		10.34	³		4.65			(3.95	)		0.70			0.53			0.5		13.23

2018⁶		10.00		0.04	¹		0.71		0.75		0.00			0.00		0.00			10.75		7.50	^3,4		5.24	⁵		(4.54	)⁵		0.70	⁵		0.46	⁵		0.4		5.85	⁴

¹	Based on average shares outstanding.

²	Less than $0.01 per share.

³	The total returns would have been lower had certain expenses not been reduced during the period shown.

⁴	Not Annualized.

⁵	Annualized.

⁶	For the period January 2, 2018 (commencement of operations) to September 30, 2018.


54		See Notes to Financial Statements.


March 31, 2021		Baron Funds

FUND EXPENSES (Unaudited)

As a shareholder of the Funds, you incur ongoing expenses. Ongoing expenses include advisory fees, distribution and service (12b-1) fees and other Fund expenses. The information on this page is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs of investing in the Funds and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The information in the following table is based on an investment of $1,000 invested on October 1, 2020 and held for the six months ended March 31, 2021.

ACTUAL EXPENSES

The table below titled “Based on Actual Total Return” provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information provided in this table, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. To estimate the expenses you paid on your account, divide your ending account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 ending account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number under the heading titled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

BASED ON ACTUAL TOTAL RETURN FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021¹



	Actual Total Return			Beginning Account Value October 1, 2020		Ending Account Value March 31, 2021			Annualized Expense Ratio			Expenses Paid During the Period²
Baron Asset Fund — Retail Shares		13.88	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,138.80			1.30	%	$	6.93
Baron Asset Fund — Institutional Shares		14.02	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,140.20			1.04	%	$	5.55
Baron Asset Fund — R6 Shares		14.02	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,140.20			1.04	%	$	5.55
Baron Growth Fund — Retail Shares		22.07	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,220.70			1.29	%	$	7.14
Baron Growth Fund — Institutional Shares		22.23	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,222.30			1.03	%	$	5.71
Baron Growth Fund — R6 Shares		22.24	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,222.40			1.03	%	$	5.71
Baron Small Cap Fund — Retail Shares		20.58	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,205.80			1.30	%	$	7.15
Baron Small Cap Fund — Institutional Shares		20.72	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,207.20			1.04	%	$	5.72
Baron Small Cap Fund — R6 Shares		20.73	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,207.30			1.04	%	$	5.72
Baron Opportunity Fund — Retail Shares		23.96	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,239.60			1.31	%	$	7.31
Baron Opportunity Fund — Institutional Shares		24.10	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,241.00			1.05	%	$	5.87
Baron Opportunity Fund — R6 Shares		24.13	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,241.30			1.05	%	$	5.87
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Retail Shares		6.30	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,063.00	³		1.00	%⁴	$	5.14
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Institutional Shares		6.45	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,064.50	³		0.75	%⁴	$	3.86
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — R6 Shares		6.44	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,064.40	³		0.75	%⁴	$	3.86
Baron Discovery Fund — Retail Shares		34.77	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,347.70			1.31	%	$	7.67
Baron Discovery Fund — Institutional Shares		34.92	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,349.20			1.05	%	$	6.15
Baron Discovery Fund — R6 Shares		34.95	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,349.50			1.05	%	$	6.15
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Retail Shares		10.71	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,107.10	³		0.95	%⁴	$	4.99
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Institutional Shares		10.85	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,108.50	³		0.70	%⁴	$	3.68
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — R6 Shares		10.85	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,108.50	³		0.70	%⁴	$	3.68

¹	Assumes reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions, if any.

²	Expenses are equal to each share class’ respective annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year, then divided by 365.

³	Ending account value assumes the return earned after waiver and would have been lower if a portion of the expenses had not been waived.

⁴	Annualized expense ratios are adjusted to reflect fee waiver.


Baron Funds		March 31, 2021

FUND EXPENSES (Unaudited) (Continued)

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE FOR COMPARISON PURPOSES

The table below titled “Based on Hypothetical Total Return” provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Funds’ actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account values and expenses you paid for the period. You may use the information provided in this table to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Funds and other funds. To do so, compare the 5% hypothetical example relating to the Funds with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds.

BASED ON HYPOTHETICAL TOTAL RETURN FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021



	Hypothetical Annualized Total Return			Beginning Account Value October 1, 2020		Ending Account Value March 31, 2021			Annualized Expense Ratio			Expenses Paid During the Period²
Baron Asset Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.45			1.30	%	$	6.54
Baron Asset Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.75			1.04	%	$	5.24
Baron Asset Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.75			1.04	%	$	5.24
Baron Growth Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.50			1.29	%	$	6.49
Baron Growth Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.80			1.03	%	$	5.19
Baron Growth Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.80			1.03	%	$	5.19
Baron Small Cap Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.45			1.30	%	$	6.54
Baron Small Cap Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.75			1.04	%	$	5.24
Baron Small Cap Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.75			1.04	%	$	5.24
Baron Opportunity Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.40			1.31	%	$	6.59
Baron Opportunity Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.70			1.05	%	$	5.29
Baron Opportunity Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.70			1.05	%	$	5.29
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.95	³		1.00	%⁴	$	5.04
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.19	³		0.75	%⁴	$	3.78
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.19	³		0.75	%⁴	$	3.78
Baron Discovery Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.40			1.31	%	$	6.59
Baron Discovery Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.70			1.05	%	$	5.29
Baron Discovery Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.70			1.05	%	$	5.29
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Retail Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.19	³		0.95	%⁴	$	4.78
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — Institutional Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.44	³		0.70	%⁴	$	3.53
Baron Durable Advantage Fund — R6 Shares		5.00	%	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.44	³		0.70	%⁴	$	3.53

¹	Assumes reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions, if any.

²	Expenses are equal to each share class’ respective annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half-year, then divided by 365.

³	Ending account value assumes the return earned after waiver and would have been lower if a portion of the expenses had not been waived.

⁴	Annualized expense ratios are adjusted to reflect fee waiver.

Go Paperless!

It’s fast, simple and a smart way to help the environment.

Enjoy the speed and convenience of receiving Fund documents electronically.

For more information, and to enroll today, go to www.baronfunds.com/edelivery.

LOGO

767 Fifth Avenue, 49^th Fl.

New York, NY 10153

1.800.99.BARON

212-583-2000

www.BaronFunds.com

LOGO

MARCH 31

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

Not applicable.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

Not applicable.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Schedule of Investments.

Included herein under Item 1.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

Not applicable.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a) The Registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”)) are effective based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report.

(b) There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 13. Exhibits.

(a)(1) Not applicable.

(a)(2) Certification of each of the principal executive officers and principal financial officers of the Registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act.

(b) Certification of each of the principal executive officers and principal financial officers of the Registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(b) under the 1940 Act.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST

By:		/s/ Ronald Baron
		Ronald Baron
		Chief Executive Officer

Date: May 27, 2021

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.


By:		/s/ Ronald Baron
		Ronald Baron
		Chief Executive Officer

Date: May 27, 2021

By:		/s/ Peggy Wong
		Peggy Wong
		Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Date: May 27, 2021