Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Emerging Markets Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund returned 2.50% (Institutional Shares) compared to a 2.37% return for the MSCI EM Index (primary benchmark Index) and a 2.98% gain for the MSCI EM IMI Growth Index (the Proxy Benchmark). The fund performed in line with the primary benchmark while modestly underperformed the proxy benchmark. The recent strength in equities is due to the Fed’s indication that it will proceed with multiple rate cuts this year. To know the best picks for the fund in 2024, please check the top five holdings of the fund.
Baron Emerging Markets Fund highlighted stocks like HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) is a banking and financial services provider with a market capitalization of $146.993 billion. The one-month return of HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) was -0.58%, and its shares lost 10.51% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 24, 2024, HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) stock closed at $58.00 per share.
Baron Emerging Markets Fund stated the following regarding HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) is India’s largest and most prominent private sector bank. Shares declined after the company reported results that showed slowing deposit growth due to competition and overall tight liquidity conditions. The company will likely have to curtail the pace of asset growth or increase funding costs to attract more deposits in the near term as a result. We think this headwind is temporary. We believe the size and scope of HDFC Bank’s distribution network is a competitive advantage that will allow it to grow its funding base at a faster pace than the industry over the long term. We retain conviction in HDFC Bank as one of the best ways to invest in the underpenetrated market for retail lending in India.”
A business owner tallying their profits in the back office of a local banking branch.
HDFC Bank Limited’s (NYSE:HDB) net revenues for the quarter were at INR 396 billion, increased by 25.8% over prior year. HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) at the end of the first quarter which was 43 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) and shared Polen Capital’s views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
