Investment Guru Ron Baron is known for investing long term, sometimes 20 to 30 years long.
Invesment Guru Ron Baron had an interview with Steve Forbes lately, in which Baron answered the questions on investing in long term and evaluating the quality of a business:
Watch the complete interview and read the transcript here.
In another interview, this one with CNBC recently, he stated now normally he has more money than investment ideas, now he has more ideas than money:
These are the stocks he has kept buying in the recent quarters:
No. 1: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS, Financial), Weightings: 2.11% - 4,429,753 Shares
Ron Baron owns 4,429,753 shares of FDS, valued as $297 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 2.11% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.6%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 0.22%.
FactSet Research Systems Inc. supplies global economic and financial data to analysts, investment bankers and other financial professionals. Factset Research Systems Inc. has a market cap of $4.1 billion; its shares were traded at around $88.4 with a P/E ratio of 28.6 and P/S ratio of 6.4. The dividend yield of Factset Research Systems Inc. stocks is 1%. Factset Research Systems Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 19.4% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Factset Research Systems Inc. the business predictability rank of 5-star.
No. 2: IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (IDXX, Financial), Weightings: 2.06% - 4,766,495 Shares
Ron Baron owns 4,766,495 shares of IDXX, valued as $290 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 2.06% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 1.54%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 18.77%.
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a world leader in providing diagnostic, detection, and information products to the animal health industry as well as quality assurance products and services to the food and water industries. Idexx Laboratories Inc. has a market cap of $3.62 billion; its shares were traded at around $62.68 with a P/E ratio of 27.7 and P/S ratio of 3.5. Idexx Laboratories Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 17.5% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Idexx Laboratories Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
No. 3: Equinix Inc. (EQIX, Financial), Weightings: 1.82% - 3,158,349 Shares
Ron Baron owns 3,158,349 shares of EQIX, valued as $257 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.82% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.55%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 2.2%.
Equinix designs, builds and operates neutral Internet Business Exchangecenters where Internet businesses place their equipment and their network facilities in order to interconnect with each other. Equinix Inc. has a market cap of $3.87 billion; its shares were traded at around $84.92 with a P/E ratio of 64.3 and P/S ratio of 4.4.
No. 4: Gartner Inc. (IT, Financial), Weightings: 1.55% - 9,416,333 Shares
Ron Baron owns 9,416,333 shares of IT, valued as $219 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.55% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 1.21%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 2.46%.
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner Inc. has a market cap of $3.01 billion; its shares were traded at around $31.58 with a P/E ratio of 31.9 and P/S ratio of 2.6. Gartner Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 21.2% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Gartner Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
No. 5: Core Laboratories N.V. Common SharesNLG (CLB, Financial), Weightings: 1.52% - 1,446,495 Shares
Ron Baron owns 1,446,495 shares of CLB, valued as $214 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.52% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.86%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 0.37%.
Based in the Netherlands, Core Laboratories provides geological andenvironmental analysis services and manufactures precise measurementequipment. Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg has a market cap of $3.67 billion; its shares were traded at around $82.08 with a P/E ratio of 29.1 and P/S ratio of 5.3. The dividend yield of Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg stocks is 0.3%. Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg had an annual average earning growth of 13.9% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.
To check the complete list of stocks that Ron Baron holds, please go here.
Listen to the presentation Ron Baron did on the 3Q10 conference call here.
Invesment Guru Ron Baron had an interview with Steve Forbes lately, in which Baron answered the questions on investing in long term and evaluating the quality of a business:
Forbes: How would you describe your investment strategy, and how is it holding up in this market?
Ron Baron:The strategy is that everything we do is long-term. We invest in a world that's focused and obsessed with short-term developments and jobs reports and next quarter's earnings--we're long-term investors. And long-term, I mean by that ... on average for four to five years, although we've also owned stocks for 15 and 20 years. So in Charles Schwab (SCHW - news - people ) we've been investors since 1992, so long-term. And that's a rarity in the world of mutual funds, and it's a rarity in terms of investing in general.
Investing for the long term and investing in businesses that have real big opportunities and investing in people who we think are capable and talented, ethical, smart, hard-working, able to inspire other people to follow their lead.
What we're trying to do is to provide alpha. Alpha means that we're trying do better than the stock market over the long term. We don't believe in the efficient market theory that everything is priced the way that it's supposed to be priced, and we think that if you invest in businesses that can become a lot bigger, people don't give you credit for that, and so therefore you tend to make excess returns. And over the long term, we've been able to do much better than the stock market.
The Baron Growth Fund is a fund that I manage, it's over 15 years old, and that's outperformed the stock market by 770 basis points a year for about 15 years.
ETFs are on the rise and computer trading is on the rise, all these things have made the market more volatile and made the idea of long-term growth less palatable.
Forbes: When you were talking about finding the right opportunity, you also seem to put an emphasis on management. How do you evaluate a management team, and how much does a company's team influence whether you invest in it or not?
It's everything. You have to find someone who you think will be a good steward of the capital that you've entrusted with him to manage. But if you have someone who's really, really smart and you don't care for them and you don't trust them, that's a really bad combination. So you have to bet on people, and a lot of people we invest in are entrepreneurial. So people are everything, and how do you value them? You do it your whole life. You do it from the time you're in grade school about who you want to be friends with and who you trust and who you think is the smartest kid in class. So everything is about, "Do you want to be friends with this person? Do you trust them? Do you think they're ethical? Do you think they live up to their word? Do you think they live up to their promises?"
Watch the complete interview and read the transcript here.
In another interview, this one with CNBC recently, he stated now normally he has more money than investment ideas, now he has more ideas than money:
These are the stocks he has kept buying in the recent quarters:
No. 1: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS, Financial), Weightings: 2.11% - 4,429,753 Shares
Ron Baron owns 4,429,753 shares of FDS, valued as $297 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 2.11% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.6%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 0.22%.
FactSet Research Systems Inc. supplies global economic and financial data to analysts, investment bankers and other financial professionals. Factset Research Systems Inc. has a market cap of $4.1 billion; its shares were traded at around $88.4 with a P/E ratio of 28.6 and P/S ratio of 6.4. The dividend yield of Factset Research Systems Inc. stocks is 1%. Factset Research Systems Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 19.4% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Factset Research Systems Inc. the business predictability rank of 5-star.
No. 2: IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (IDXX, Financial), Weightings: 2.06% - 4,766,495 Shares
Ron Baron owns 4,766,495 shares of IDXX, valued as $290 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 2.06% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 1.54%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 18.77%.
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a world leader in providing diagnostic, detection, and information products to the animal health industry as well as quality assurance products and services to the food and water industries. Idexx Laboratories Inc. has a market cap of $3.62 billion; its shares were traded at around $62.68 with a P/E ratio of 27.7 and P/S ratio of 3.5. Idexx Laboratories Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 17.5% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Idexx Laboratories Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
No. 3: Equinix Inc. (EQIX, Financial), Weightings: 1.82% - 3,158,349 Shares
Ron Baron owns 3,158,349 shares of EQIX, valued as $257 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.82% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.55%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 2.2%.
Equinix designs, builds and operates neutral Internet Business Exchangecenters where Internet businesses place their equipment and their network facilities in order to interconnect with each other. Equinix Inc. has a market cap of $3.87 billion; its shares were traded at around $84.92 with a P/E ratio of 64.3 and P/S ratio of 4.4.
No. 4: Gartner Inc. (IT, Financial), Weightings: 1.55% - 9,416,333 Shares
Ron Baron owns 9,416,333 shares of IT, valued as $219 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.55% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 1.21%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 2.46%.
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner Inc. has a market cap of $3.01 billion; its shares were traded at around $31.58 with a P/E ratio of 31.9 and P/S ratio of 2.6. Gartner Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 21.2% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Gartner Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
No. 5: Core Laboratories N.V. Common SharesNLG (CLB, Financial), Weightings: 1.52% - 1,446,495 Shares
Ron Baron owns 1,446,495 shares of CLB, valued as $214 million as of Jun. 30, 2010, which accounts for 1.52% of his equity portfolio. Ron Baron added his positions in the Mar. 31, 2010 quarter by 0.86%, again in the Jun. 30, 2010 quarter by 0.37%.
Based in the Netherlands, Core Laboratories provides geological andenvironmental analysis services and manufactures precise measurementequipment. Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg has a market cap of $3.67 billion; its shares were traded at around $82.08 with a P/E ratio of 29.1 and P/S ratio of 5.3. The dividend yield of Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg stocks is 0.3%. Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg had an annual average earning growth of 13.9% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Core Laboratories N.v. Common Sharesnlg the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.
To check the complete list of stocks that Ron Baron holds, please go here.
Listen to the presentation Ron Baron did on the 3Q10 conference call here.
