Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron FinTech Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. U.S. equities closed 5% lower in Q1, following a sharp decline in March. Markets started well with the S&P 500 Index reaching new highs. However, concerns about tariffs, inflation, and softer economic growth, along with concerns about AI secular growth, contributed to risk-off conditions. In the first quarter, the fund fell 1.31% (Institutional Shares) compared to a -7.52% return for the FactSet Global FinTech Index (Benchmark) and a -4.27% decline for the S&P 500 index. Since its inception, the fund has appreciated at an annualized rate of 11.27%, compared to a 2.22% return for the Benchmark. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Baron FinTech Fund highlighted stocks such as ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN). ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) provides an end-to-end cloud-based software platform for activities required to install, maintain, and service the infrastructure and systems. The one-month return of ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) was -2.20%, and YTD its shares gained 19.19% of their value. On May 23, 2024, ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) stock closed at $122.61 per share with a market capitalization of $11.113 billion.
Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
"We also added to our position in ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN), a provider of business management software for the field service industry, which was another new purchase in the prior quarter. The company reported strong financial results with 29% revenue growth and solid margin expansion in the recent quarter. Management provided guidance for this year that exceeded Street expectations yet still leaves room for upside. Key focus areas include targeting enterprise customers (especially private equity-backed consolidators), upselling higher-value services, and expanding in the commercial and roofing markets. We expect the company to continue growing 20%-plus with significant margin expansion and free cash flow growth over time."
yuttana Contributor Studio/Shutterstock.com
ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 25 hedge fund portfolios held ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) at the end of the first quarter which was 43 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) 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 undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
In another article, we covered ServiceTitan, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTAN) and shared the list of best new stocks to buy according to billionaires. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.