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 KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB), with a market capitalization of $21.602 billion, offers a variety of banking and financial services to consumers and corporations. The one-month return of KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) was 3.92%, and its shares gained 54.90% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 24, 2024, KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) stock closed at $56.80 per share.
Baron Emerging Markets Fund stated the following regarding KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we also initiated a position in KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB), which is the holding company for Kookmin Bank, one of South Korea’s largest commercial banks. Through its subsidiaries, the company offers a broad range of products including traditional corporate and retail banking, asset management, life and non-life insurance, and securities-related services. We like KB Financial for several reasons. First, its broad business diversification provides a more resilient earnings stream relative to peers. Second, the company operates with the highest capital ratios among Korean banks and a high provisioning buffer, which we believe will drive a higher total return for shareholders via increasing dividend payout and buybacks. At the current valuation (0.4x price/book), we believe KB Financial is undervalued relative to its ROE potential. We believe the combination of strong capital ratios and high return profile should drive a re-rating in the company’s shares, with further upside potentially triggered by the value-up program that Korea recently established to enhance long-term shareholder value for listed companies.”
A businessperson in a suit shaking hands to seal a deal, symbolizing the company’s corporate banking services.
KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 18 hedge fund portfolios held KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) at the end of the first quarter which was 15 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed KB Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:KB) and shared Ariel Investments’ views on the company. 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.
