01/28/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/28/2026 13:44
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Investment Goal
The investment goal of the Baron Durable Advantage Fund® (the "Fund") is capital appreciation through investments primarily in securities of large-sized companies.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you would pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
Management Fee |
Distribution (12b-1) Fee |
Other Expenses1 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
Expense Reimbursements |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursements1 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Retail Shares |
0.65% | 0.25% | 0.10% | 1.00% | (0.05 | )% | 0.95% | |||||||||||||||||
|
Institutional Shares |
0.65% | 0.00% | 0.08% | 0.73% | (0.03 | )% | 0.70% | |||||||||||||||||
|
R6 Shares |
0.65% | 0.00% | 0.08% | 0.73% | (0.03 | )% | 0.70% | |||||||||||||||||
| (1) | BAMCO, Inc. ("BAMCO" or the "Adviser") has agreed that, pursuant to a contract with an 11-year term terminating on August 29, 2036, it will reimburse certain expenses of the Fund, limiting net annual operating expenses (portfolio transaction costs, interest and dividend expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees and expenses related to filing foreign tax reclaims, and extraordinary expenses are not subject to the operating expense limitation) to 0.95% of average daily net assets of Retail Shares, 0.70% of average daily net assets of Institutional Shares and 0.70% of average daily net assets of R6 shares. Only the Board of Trustees of the Fund may terminate the expense reimbursement agreement prior to its termination date. |
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a
|
1-800-99BARON |
1 | |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the expense reimbursement agreement described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| YEAR | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||||||||||||
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund |
||||||||||||||||
|
Retail Shares |
$ | 97 | $ | 303 | $ | 525 | $ | 1,166 | ||||||||
|
Institutional Shares |
$ | 72 | $ | 224 | $ | 390 | $ | 871 | ||||||||
|
R6 Shares |
$ | 72 | $ | 224 | $ | 390 | $ | 871 | ||||||||
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes for Fund shareholders. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 13% of the average value of its portfolio.
Investments, Risks, and Performance
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund is a diversified fund that, under normal circumstances, invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. large-sized companies. The Adviser defines large-sized companies as those, at the time of purchase, with market capitalizations no smaller than the top 90th percentile by total market capitalization of the S&P 500 Index at June 30, or companies with market capitalizations above $10 billion, whichever is smaller. The Adviser seeks to invest primarily in what it believes are well-managed, competitively advantaged businesses that generate significant excess free cash flow that is consistently returned to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and/or dividends.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
General Stock Market. Fund losses may be incurred due to declines in one or more markets in which Fund investments are made. These declines may be the result of, among other things, political, regulatory, market, economic or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). In addition, turbulence as has recently been experienced, caused, among other reasons, by increased inflation, tightening monetary policy and interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve or similar
| 2 |
BaronCapitalGroup.com |
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
international bodies, and reduced liquidity in financial markets may continue to negatively affect many issuers, which could have an adverse effect on your Fund investment. Events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect one industry, such as the financial services industry, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, may spread to other industries, and could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the Fund's investments. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the world-wide response to it, have and may continue to adversely impact issuers and markets worldwide. Increasingly strained relations between countries, including between the U.S. and traditional allies and/or adversaries, could adversely affect U.S. issuers as well as non-U.S. issuers that rely on the United States for trade. A fund's securities may be negatively impacted by inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products/services or resources, supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, war, military confrontations, changes in trade regulations, elevated levels of government debt, internal unrest and discord, economic sanctions, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions, among others. For example, the well-publicized conflicts in the Middle East and in the Southern hemisphere present considerable market risks, and the ultimate effects of these events and other socio-political or geopolitical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets. Raising the ceiling on U.S. government debt has become increasingly politicized. Any failure to increase the total amount that the U.S. government is authorized to borrow could lead to a default on U.S. government obligations, with unpredictable consequences for economies and markets in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Large-Cap Companies. Because the Fund invests primarily in large-cap company securities, it may underperform other funds during periods when the Fund's securities are out of favor.
Technology. Technology companies, including internet-related and information technology companies, as well as companies propelled by new technologies, may present the risk of rapid change and product obsolescence, and their successes may be difficult to predict for the long term. Some technology companies may be newly formed and have limited operating history and experience. Technology companies may also be adversely affected by changes in governmental policies, competitive pressures and changing demand. The securities of these companies may also experience significant price movements caused by disproportionate investor optimism or pessimism, with little or no basis in the companies' fundamentals or economic conditions.
|
1-800-99BARON |
3 | |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Financials Sector. The financials industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition. Uncertainty in the banking and financial systems can result in significant and widespread deterioration in market and economic conditions by disrupting access to capital and other financial services, which could adversely affect the performance of the Fund.
Performance
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund (Retail Shares) by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 and 5 years and since inception compare with a broad-based index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at BaronCapitalGroup.com/daily-prices-and-performance or by calling 1-800-99BARON (1-800-992-2766).
Year by Year Total Return (%) as of December 31 of Each Year (Retail Shares)
| Best Quarter: |
06/30/20: 22.11% |
| Worst Quarter: |
03/31/20: (16.02)% |
| 4 |
BaronCapitalGroup.com |
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/25)
The following table shows the Fund's Retail Shares' annual returns and long-term performance (before and after taxes) and the change in value of a broad-based market index over various periods ended December 31, 2025. This table shows how the Fund's performance compares to that of the S&P 500 Index, a broad-based securities index that reflects the overall U.S. equity market in which the Fund invests. The table also shows the average annual returns of the Fund's Institutional Shares and R6 Shares, but it does not show after-tax returns.
After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal marginal income tax rate in effect at the time of each distribution and assumed sale, but they do not include the impact of state and local taxes.
Your actual after-tax returns depend on your own tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns reflect past tax effects and are not predictive of future tax effects. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund's shares in a tax-deferred account (including a 401(k) or IRA or Coverdell account), or to investors that are tax-exempt.
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2025
| 1 year | 5 years | 10 years |
Since Inception |
|||||||||||||
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund |
||||||||||||||||
|
Retail Shares |
||||||||||||||||
|
Return before taxes |
16.25% | 16.17% | N/A | 16.14% | ||||||||||||
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
16.25% | 16.15% | N/A | 16.11% | ||||||||||||
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares |
9.62% | 13.09% | N/A | 13.52% | ||||||||||||
|
Institutional Shares |
||||||||||||||||
|
Return before taxes |
16.56% | 16.47% | N/A | 16.42% | ||||||||||||
|
R6 Shares |
||||||||||||||||
|
Return before taxes |
16.56% | 16.48% | N/A | 16.42% | ||||||||||||
|
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
17.88% | 14.42% | N/A | 14.33% | ||||||||||||
Management
Investment Adviser. BAMCO is the investment adviser of the Fund.
|
1-800-99BARON |
5 | |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Portfolio Manager. Alex Umansky has been the portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception on December 29, 2017. Mr. Umansky has worked at the Adviser as a portfolio manager since November of 2011.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Shares may be purchased only on days that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading.
|
Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Subsequent Investment |
Maximum Subsequent Investment |
||||
|
Retail Shares |
$2,000 | No Minimum | No Maximum | |||
|
Baron Automatic Investment Plan |
$500 (with subsequent minimum investments of $50 per month until your investment has reached $2,000.) | No Minimum | No Maximum | |||
|
Baron Funds® website purchases |
$2,000 | $10 | $7,000 for retirement accounts ($8,000 for individuals 50 or older) and $250,000 for non-retirement accounts. | |||
|
Institutional Shares |
$1,000,000 (Employees of the Adviser and its affiliates and Trustees of the Baron Funds® and employer sponsored retirement plans (qualified and nonqualified) are not subject to the eligibility requirements for Institutional Shares.) | No Minimum | No Maximum | |||
| 6 |
BaronCapitalGroup.com |
|
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
|
Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Subsequent Investment |
Maximum Subsequent Investment |
||||
|
Baron Funds® website purchases |
You may not make an initial purchase through the Baron Funds® website. | $10 | $7,000 for retirement accounts ($8,000 for individuals 50 or older) and $250,000 for non-retirement accounts. | |||
|
R6 Shares |
$5,000,000 (There is no minimum initial investment for qualified retirement plans; however, the shares must be held through plan-level or omnibus accounts held on the books of the Fund.) | No Minimum | No Maximum | |||
|
Baron Funds® website purchases |
You may not make an initial purchase through the Baron Funds® website. | $10 | $7,000 for retirement accounts ($8,000 for individuals 50 or older) and $250,000 for non-retirement accounts. | |||
You Can Purchase or Redeem Shares By:
| 1. | Mailing a request to Baron Funds®, P.O. Box 219946, Kansas City, MO 64121-9946 or by overnight mail to: Baron Funds®, 801 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 219946, Kansas City, MO 64105-1307; |
| 2. | Wire (Purchase Only); |
| 3. | Calling 1-800-442-3814; |
| 4. | Visiting the Baron Funds® website BaronCapitalGroup.com; or |
| 5. | Through a broker, dealer or other financial intermediary that may charge you a fee. |
The Fund is not for short-term traders who intend to purchase and then sell their Fund shares within a 90 day period. If the Adviser reasonably believes that a person is not a long-term investor, it will attempt to prohibit that person from making additional investments in the Fund.
|
1-800-99BARON |
7 | |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund
Tax Information
Distributions of the Fund's net investment income (other than "qualified dividend income") and distributions of net short-term capital gains will be taxable to you as ordinary income. Distributions of the Fund's net long-term capital gains reported as capital gain dividends by the Fund will be taxable to you as long-term capital gains, regardless of the length of time you have held shares of the Fund. If you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, you may be subject to federal income tax on withdrawals from tax-deferred arrangement at a later date.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Retail or Institutional Shares of the Fund through a broker, dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial adviser), the Fund, Baron Capital, Inc., the Fund's distributor, BAMCO or their affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker, dealer or other financial intermediary, including your salesperson, to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
| 8 |
BaronCapitalGroup.com |
|