Baron Real Estate Fund Tops REIT Benchmarks in Q3, Details New Iron Mountain Stake

Overview

• The fund’s Institutional Shares rose 10.25% in Q3 2025, outpacing the MSCI US REIT Index at 4.49% and the MSCI USA IMI Extended Real Estate Index at 5.65%.
• Initiated a position in Iron Mountain based on valuation and data center growth, citing an outlook for roughly 10% cash flow per share growth over several years after meetings with CEO Bill Meany and CFO Barry Hytinen.
• Added AAON following a roughly 40% pullback from its 2025 peak, characterizing the drop as an overreaction to Investor Day guidance and a temporary ERP implementation hiccup.
• Highlighted Wynn Resorts as a contributor, noting a 37.3% share gain following strong Q2 results and better-than-expected performance in Macau and Las Vegas.
• Flagged detractors and risks including Airbnb on fears of near-term growth deceleration and potential 2026 margin impact, and American Tower on a U.S. billings delay to 2026 plus investor questions tied to DISH commitments, while also citing constructive views on JLL and CRH’s multi-year growth setup.