Baron Capital, an investment management company, released its “Baron Financials ETF” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the Fund fell 2.22% (Institutional Shares) compared to a 7.19% decline for the FactSet Global FinTech Index (Benchmark) and a 2.07% gain for the MSCI USA Financials Index. Since inception, the Fund returned a 10.21% annualized rate compared to 2.55% and 11.97% return for the indexes. In December 2025, the product transitioned from a mutual fund to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in response to investor feedback. Despite this change in structure and name, the investment strategy continues to focus on a growth approach aimed at financial and financial-related companies. Several factors contributed to quarterly gains and a steady market recovery from the lows observed on April 8, including diminishing tariff effects, strong corporate earnings, and ongoing monetary easing. Moving to 2026, the firm is optimistic about the outlook for the financial sector and its holdings, given the healthy and supportive macroeconomic environment. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Baron Financials ETF highlighted S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) as one of its leading contributors. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a leading financial services company that provides ratings, benchmarks, data, analytics, and workflow solutions. On March 30, 2026, S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) closed at $417.59 per share. One-month return of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) was -5.95%, and its shares lost 18.24% over the past 52 weeks. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) has a market capitalization of $126.45 billion.
Baron Financials ETF stated the following regarding S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Leading rating agency and data provider S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) contributed to performance. Shares rebounded from a pullback in September that stemmed from a competitor’s cautious commentary around market demand and margins. S&P Global alleviated these concerns by delivering strong third quarter results and raising its full-year financial guidance. The company is benefiting from elevated debt issuance, rising equity markets, and resilient demand for its software and data services. Momentum carried into the fourth quarter, with rated debt issuance growing more than 30% in October and November. Additionally, management provided medium-term financial guidance calling for 7% to 9% organic revenue growth, continued margin expansion, and double-digit annualized earnings per share growth. We continue to own S&P Global given the company’s long growth runway and significant competitive advantages.”
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 108 hedge fund portfolios held S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 110 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) and shared Ironvine Capital Partners’ views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 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.
