Soumya Eswaran
3 min read
Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Real Estate Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In Q1 2025, stocks were sold due to economic growth slowdown, inflation, and policymaking issues, including Baron Real Estate Fund®, without considering value. The fund declined 6.69% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter compared to a 3.11% decline for the MSCI USA IMI Extended Real Estate Index (the MSCI Real Estate Index) and a 0.76% gain for the MSCI US REIT Index (the REIT Index). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Baron Real Estate Fund highlighted stocks such as Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN). Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm. The one-month return of Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) was 19.72%, and its shares gained 33.29% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 14, 2025, Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) stock closed at $59.50 per share with a market capitalization of $92.046 billion.
Baron Real Estate Fund stated the following regarding Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
"Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) is a leading global owner and operator of real assets such as real estate and infrastructure. We believe the company’s global reach, capital, and the synergies among its businesses provide significant opportunities for growth.
A portfolio manager reviewing financial documents in a modern office.
Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 37 hedge fund portfolios held Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 37 in the previous quarter. In the first quarter 2025, Brookfield Corporation's (NYSE:BN) distributable earnings before realizations increased 30% to $1.3 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
