Here’s Why Baron Funds Remain Optimistic in LPLA

Baron Funds, an asset management firm, published its “Baron Fintech Fund” first-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Baron FinTech Fund (the “Fund”) fell 16.67% (Institutional Shares) compared with a 4.60% decline for the S&P 500 Index (the “Benchmark”) and a 12.78% decline for the FactSet Global FinTech Index. Try to spend some time looking at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022. 

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Baron Fintech Fund mentioned LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1989, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) is a San Diego, California-based investment and business solutions provider with a $15.0 billion market capitalization. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) delivered a 17.84% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 35.70%. The stock closed at $188.65 per share on June 10, 2022.

Here is what Baron Fintech Fund has to say about LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“LPL Financial Holdings Inc. is the largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S. Shares contributed after the company reported strong financial results with 20% gross profit growth and 34% growth in assets under management. Organic net new asset growth reached 13% in 2021, up from 7% in 2020. Shares also benefited from expectations of higher interest rates, which would increase the yield that LPL earns on cash held in client accounts. We continue to own the stock because of LPL’s strong competitive position, market share gains, and tailwinds from higher interest rates.”

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Our calculations show that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) was in 47 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2022, compared to 48 funds in the previous quarter. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) delivered a 20.30% return in the past 3 months.

In March 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.