Baron Real Estate Income Fund

Welltower Inc. (WELL) is a $100 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.

Prologis, Inc. (PLD) is the world's largest industrial warehouse REIT. 
In our view, industrial real estate fundamentals remain attractive, and the sector should deliver among the strongest organic growth across real estate asset classes over the next several years. Stabilizing demand—driven by e-commerce growth, inventory building, and the need for infill locations to support last-mile delivery—should help absorb a sharp decline in new supply. We believe Prologis is well positioned to benefit from these favorable fundamentals, supported by its strong assets, markets, management team, and balance sheet.

Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP) is a real estate investment trust that owns, manages, and develops office properties in the United States, with a significant presence in Boston, Washington, D.C., Midtown Manhattan, and San Francisco.
In our view, Boston Properties has the most desirable portfolio in the office sector based on physical structures and location. The company, which was founded in 1970 by Mort Zuckerman and Edward Linde, owns 164 office properties, five retail properties, four residential properties, and one hotel. We think long-term cash flow prospects are strong and the company maintains a strong balance sheet.

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) is a network-neutral operator of more than 270 data centers in 70-plus metro areas across over 30 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It offers highly reliable facilities and low-latency interconnection among enterprises, 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.

American Tower Corporation (AMT) is the largest independent wireless tower operator worldwide, with more than 240,000 towers in 20 countries across 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.

The Macerich Company (MAC) is a REIT that owns a high-quality portfolio of mall properties—primarily in California, New York, and Arizona.
Macerich should benefit from favorable real estate fundamentals for high-quality, well-located retail properties, with tenant demand exceeding available space and generating rent growth. The recent appointment of a new CEO to lead Macerich through a multiyear business transformation should help simplify the company’s portfolio, reduce debt, and improve growth prospects. We believe the stock is undervalued and a successful conversion will result in a higher valuation multiple over time.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) is a leading global provider of large-scale data center services to enterprises, cloud providers, and network operators. The company has 310 data centers in over 50 metro areas around the globe, with 51% of revenue in North America and the remainder in other regions worldwide.
Digital Realty enjoys strong growth prospects driven by cloud adoption, IT/data center outsourcing, and emerging AI applications. With a recurring revenue model, a sticky customer base with long-term leases, scale advantages, and a strong management team, we think Digital Realty is well positioned to take share. It offers a comprehensive suite of services through its acquisitions of Telx Group (network dense interconnection provider), Equicity (eight European assets), DuPont Fabros (U.S.-based wholesale operator), Ascenty (Brazil-based operator), and InterXion (Europe).

Equity Residential (EQR) is the largest U.S. apartment REIT, with over 75,000 units and a portfolio valued at over $35 billion, focused largely on coastal markets such as New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco.
Equity Residential is a blue-chip apartment REIT, with high-quality assets in markets with high barriers to entry, a proven management team, a state-of-the-art operating platform, and a strong balance sheet. Tenant demand for apartments remains strong, driven by low housing inventories and changing demographics. Following a period of decelerating rent growth driven by elevated new construction levels, we think Equity Residential should begin to see stabilizing rent growth.

Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, Inc., a newly listed Blackstone-sponsored vehicle focused on acquiring stabilized, fully leased data centers underpinned by long-term, non-cancellable leases to the world's largest hyperscalers in primary data center markets.
The opportunity is compelling given the absence of large-scale capital dedicated to acquiring stabilized data center assets—leaving a significant volume of institutional-quality assets available at attractive prices with limited competition. Blackstone's sponsorship brings an unparalleled sourcing advantage alongside a near-term actionable pipeline of $25 billion. The long-term leases with annual escalators and limited exposure to operating risks support a highly visible, attractive return profile and risk/reward opportunity.

Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation