Shares of property and casualty ("P&C") insurance software vendor Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE, Financial) detracted from performance as shares of high-multiple growth stocks lagged. The company is near the midpoint of its cloud transition, which should correspond with improving financial results. Despite short-term headwinds, we believe Guidewire has tripled its addressable market through new products and cloud delivery, and it will become the critical software vendor for the global P&C insurance industry, capturing 30% to 50% of its $15 billion to $30 billion total addressable market and generating margins above 40%.
From Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio)'s Baron Partners Fund first-quarter 2021 shareholder commentary.
