Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron FinTech Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund declined 2.25% (Institutional Shares) compared to a (5.78)% return for the FactSet Global FinTech Index (Benchmark) and a 4.28% gain for the S&P 500 index. US equities rose with major market indices reaching all-time highs during the second quarter. Overwhelming corporate results were accompanied by mixed economic data that points to further moderation of inflation. However, the rally was concentrated and driven by mega-cap technology companies. The fund’s smaller market cap profile and lack of exposure to the Magnificent Seven led the fund to underperform the broader market. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron FinTech Fund highlighted stocks like Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) is a private equity firm that specializes in investments in credit, private equity and real estate markets. The one-month return of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) was 16.91%, and its shares gained 27.96% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 12, 2024, Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) stock closed at $103.03 per share with a market capitalization of $58.679 billion.
Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Strength in Tech-Enabled Financials was broad based, led by gains from alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) and specialty insurer Arch Capital Group Ltd. Apollo continues to benefit from disruptive trends in financial services, most notably the shift of retirement assets into higher-yielding private credit given the company’s dual role as an asset manager and an annuity provider. “
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Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 81 hedge fund portfolios held Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) at the end of the first quarter which was 77 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) 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 cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) and shared the list of best financial stocks to buy according to hedge funds. Baron FinTech Fund’s Q1 2024 investor letter highlightedApollo Global Management, Inc.’s (NYSE:APO) strong performance for the quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
