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TagsBY WARREN BOROSON
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Jon Bon Jovi, the singer and song writer from New Jersey, was the surprise star entertainer at Friday's 19th annual Baron Investment Conference at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Bon Jovi, 48, a Golden Globe winner, was born in Perth Amboy and went to high school in Metuchin and Parlin. (He was born John Francis Bongiovi Jr., in 1962.)
Other surprise entertainers in the past have included Rod Stewart, Billy Crystal, Elton John, Cher, and Jerry Seinfeld.
The Baron meetings also feature individual celebrities performing at lunch. On Friday, the performers included Kelli O'Hara, the singer who starred on Broadway in "South Pacific"; John Mellencamp, and Diana Ross, who at age 66 looks darned good.
But members of the audience who came early bought out all the tickets to O'Hara's session, knowing only that it featured a Broadway star.
The conference was open only to shareholders of one or more of the various Baron stock mutual funds, who had to register, receive a ticket in the mail, then show photo identification to get in. To keep people away who only wanted to see the famous entertainer in the afternoon, people were not admitted after 11 a.m.
The conference began at 8 a.m., but check-ins could arrive at 7. So many people came early that, although I arrived at 8:30, I was relegated to the third balcony, second from the top — the dress circle.The Baron funds are no-load (you can invest directly, bypassing a stockbroker) and invest in growth stocks. Morningstar Mutual Funds, the bible of the mutual fund industry, generally gives the funds high ratings. The top rating goes to Baron Growth Retail, whch gets five stars. Baron Partners Retail and Baron Partners Retail get only two stars, for below average. Three other Baron funds rated by Morningstar get above-average ratings. (I own Baron Growth.)
Another publication of Morningstar, FundInvestor, in a survey of small-cap funds, recently wrote: "With Baron you get a distinctive style of investing. The firm looks for great franchises trading at moderate prices and holds on for the long haul.... Baron's long-term focus keeps it away from the fastest-growing highest-risk names in small caps.... The style tends to be on the cautious side of investing — outperforming in tough markets and laggng in big rallies. Overall, though, the long-term records are strong."
But Morningstar has reservations. "The biggest negatives are expense ratios and asset size. All three funds [Growth, International, and Small Cap] are a bit pricey considering that the largest has more than $5 billion."
Among small-cap funds, Morningstar recommends Royce Special Equity, Third Avenue International Value, Third Avenue Small Cap Value, and Wasatch Small Cap Growth.
Before Bon Jovi performed, various representatives of companies that Baron funds own spoke. Among them: Philip A. Hadley, chairman and CEO of FactSet Research Systems in Norwalk, Conn.; Timothy A. Leach, chairman and CEO, Concho Resources in Midland, Texas; Edward W. Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods in Corapolis, Pa.; David M. Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Md.; and Thomas K. Pritzer, chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago.
Then the various Baron portfolio managers answered questions, and Ron Baron himself, chairman and CEO of Baron Capital Group, gave a talk. He mentioned that he had grown up in New Jersey (in Asbury Park), like the mystery entertainer, Bon Jovi.
Besides free entertainment, there was a continental breakfast and a lunch of various sandwiches and soft drinks.
The audience seemed to consist mostly of people from the metropolitan area, but there were some out-of-towners, like a man from Sarasota, Fla.
