1. The Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index, with a 3.6% gain in Q3 2024. 2. Top contributors included Shopify, Meta, and MercadoLibre. 3. Top detractors were CrowdStrike, Mobileye, and ASML. 4. New holdings included Taiwan Semiconductor, KKR, and Samsara. 5. The fund focuses on high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages and exceptional management teams.

1. VBR, a value small-cap ETF, has underperformed both the broad market and its counterparts. 2. The sophisticated methodology of the CRSP US Small Cap Value Index may be flawed, lacking a traditional value bias factor. 3. Despite being cost-effective, VBR's inability to outperform its peers raises concerns about its long-term viability.