Baron Real Estate Fund

Welltower Inc. (WELL) is a $45 billion diversified health care owner and manager of senior housing, including assisted and independent living. Core to its strategy is to partner with top-tier operators and health systems while providing operators access to its proprietary data analytics platform.
We are optimistic about the prospects for Welltower given the substantial opportunity for cyclical recovery and continued secular growth in its senior housing business through occupancy and rent growth. The company also benefits from its proven ability to recycle capital at attractive rates of returns, premier health care platform, partnerships with top-tier operators, and well-respected management team focused solely on creating value on a per-share basis.

American Tower Corporation (AMT) is the largest independent wireless tower operator worldwide, with more than 240,000 towers in 20 countries on five continents.
Increasing demand for wireless data coverage is driving leasing activity by wireless carriers, with mobile data growing more than 25% per year. Since zoning for new towers in the U.S. is difficult to obtain, leasing on an existing tower (tenant colocation) or modifying existing equipment (amendment) is typically the best option. American Tower has been expanding internationally as well. We expect new tenants and higher colocation activity to drive strong organic cash flow growth. We believe American Tower will continue to acquire tower portfolios opportunistically.

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is one of the world's largest providers of commercial real estate transaction, consulting, and investment management services through a network of more than 100 offices worldwide.
Jones Lang has a leading brand, sophisticated technology, global platform, deep bench of talent, and a solid balance sheet. Its scale and platform provide a strong moat. We think the company will benefit from stabilization in interest rates and the economy, which should lead to improvement across business lines, particularly in leasing and capital markets. We think the company can grow EPS at a double-digit CAGR over the next several years, driven by a cyclical recovery, secular growth tailwinds, market share gains, operating leverage, acquisitions, and share buybacks.

CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) is a top commercial real estate services company with the leading market share in all of its major businesses.
We believe CBRE will gain meaningfully from the long-term recovery in the commercial real estate industry. Its leasing and investment sales units have high incremental margins, and we believe its profitability will improve with healthier end markets. We also believe the market underappreciates the value associated with CBRE’s property management unit given its growing, highly recurring revenue stream and open-ended growth prospects. CBRE is also one of the world’s leading managers of real estate assets.

Brookfield Corporation (BN) is one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, with $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and more than $500 billion of fee-generating AUM. It owns stakes in several publicly listed affiliates as well as other unlisted investments.
Brookfield Corporation's stake in listed companies, including Brookfield Infrastructure, Business Partners, Renewable Partners, and recently spun off Brookfield Asset Management, is worth $45 per share. We see another $25 per share in unlisted investments and $10 per share in carried interest generated for a total of $80 per share, well above the stock's current price. We think the company will profit from growth in alternative asset management, given its superior track record, highly respected CEO, global reach, scale, and diverse product offerings.

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) is the leading provider of information and marketing services to the commercial real estate industry.
CoStar has built a proprietary database through data collection over a 20-year period, creating high barriers to entry. We think CoStar's suite should grow at mid-teens rates, and we believe its Loopnet marketing platform can grow even faster. Its Apartments.com platform is the dominant multi-family internet listing service and should grow revenue by more than 20%. CoStar is starting to expand into residential, creating additional significant growth opportunities. Its balance sheet and cash generation create M&A optionality.

Prologis, Inc. (PLD) is the world's largest industrial REIT, with a $100 billion global portfolio. 
In our view, industrial real estate has attractive fundamentals over the next several years, with organic growth among the highest across all real estate asset types. Stabilizing demand, driven by the growth of e-commerce, inventory building, and the need for infill locations to service "last mile" delivery, should be able to absorb a sharp decline in supply deliveries over the next several years. Given Prologis's assets, markets, management, and balance sheet, we believe the company is well positioned to benefit from this favorable fundamental backdrop.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) is the world's second largest hotel company, with 7,500 properties and 1.2 million rooms across 123 countries. The company has 22 brands, including its flagship Hilton, Conrad, and Waldorf brands, across high-barrier-to-entry urban, convention, and resort destinations.
Hilton executed on its plan to unlock shareholder value by separating into three companies in 2017. The remaining company is largely an asset-light fee business with 90% of management fees derived from top-line revenues. In our view, Hilton has a strong runway to grow its fee base with a pipeline of 460,000 rooms, 180 million loyalty members, and industry-leading brands. Given the substantial cash generation of the business, Hilton consistently returns capital to shareholders via stock buybacks and a modest dividend payout as an additional lever for shareholder returns.

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) is a network-neutral operator of 260 data centers across 70 metro areas and 33 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It provides highly reliable facilities and offers low-latency interconnection to and among business partners, networks, and cloud service providers.
Equinix benefits from several long-term secular trends, including increasing internet traffic, IT outsourcing, cloud computing, AI, and mobility. As data and customer needs become more global, Equinix should be able to leverage its leading global data center platform. We believe Equinix can continue to grow through new data center development, rent increases, and the addition of value-added services supplemented by accretive acquisitions that increase market penetration and reach.

Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN) is a leading casino company, with assets in Macau and Las Vegas, two of the largest gaming markets in the world. It also owns the Encore Boston Harbor casino and is developing a new casino in the UAE, which it will manage while owning 40% of the resort.
In the short to medium term, we think several catalysts could drive the stock higher, including improving trends in Macau as it recovers from the pandemic, continued strength in Las Vegas with its new convention space, and the ramping of Encore Boston Harbor with more efficient operations. Longer term, we think improved infrastructure and easing visa requirements should boost growth in Macau. All of these catalysts combined with the UAE development should lead to enhanced cash flow that Wynn can use to pay down debt and improve its financial position.