-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, TfzJF5T1+7kWVjVxmI3ysBEt2JLOBs5PCw/OeECNFbuGLI9dEY15zlbiFvjAYzga Ko3BSxNdDl+WZm/C6F1FSg== 0001017918-08-000090.txt : 20080229 0001017918-08-000090.hdr.sgml : 20080229 20080229170435 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001017918-08-000090 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: N-Q PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20071231 FILED AS OF DATE: 20080229 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20080229 EFFECTIVENESS DATE: 20080229 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST (f/k/a BARON ASSET FUND) CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000810902 IRS NUMBER: 136891420 STATE OF INCORPORATION: MA FISCAL YEAR END: 0930 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: N-Q SEC ACT: 1940 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 811-05032 FILM NUMBER: 08656771 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 767 FIFTH AVE STREET 2: 49TH FL CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10153 BUSINESS PHONE: 2125832000 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 767 FIFTH AVE STREET 2: 49TH FL CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10153 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: BARON ASSET FUND DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920703 0000810902 S000000582 BARON ASSET FUND C000001635 BARON ASSET FUND BARAX 0000810902 S000000583 BARON GROWTH FUND C000001636 BARON GROWTH FUND BGRFX 0000810902 S000000584 BARON SMALL CAP FUND C000001637 BARON SMALL CAP FUND BSCFX 0000810902 S000000585 BARON iOPPORTUNITY FUND C000001638 BARON iOPPORTUNITY FUND BIOPX 0000810902 S000000586 BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND C000001639 BARON FIFTH AVENUE GROWTH FUND BFTHX N-Q 1 nq1207.txt FORM N-Q FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBERR 31, 2007 UNITED STATES -------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | OMB APPROVAL | Washington, DC 20549 |--------------------------| |OMB Number: 3235 -0578 | |Expires: May 31, 2008| |Estimated average burden | |hours per response...21.09| -------------------------- FORM N-Q QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY Investment Company Act file number: 811-5032 -------------------------------------------- BARON INVESTMENT FUNDS TRUST - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) 767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, NY 10153 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) Patrick M. Patalino, Esq. c/o Baron Investment Funds Trust, 767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor, NY, NY 10153 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Name and Address of Agent for Service) Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: 212-583-2000 -------------- Date of fiscal year end: September 30 -------------------- Date of reporting period: December 31, 2007 -------------------- Form N-Q is to be used by management investment companies, other than small business investment companies registered on Form N-5 (Sections 239.24 and 274.5 of this chapter), to file reports with the Commission, not later than 60 days after the close of the first and third fiscal quarters, pursuant to rule 30b1-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30b1-5). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-Q in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles. A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-Q, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-Q unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. Section 3507. PERSONS WHO RESPOND TO THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS IN THIS FORM ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RESPOND UNLESS THE FORM DISPLAYS A CURRENTLY VALID OMB CONTROL NUMBER. SEC 2455 (8-05) Baron Asset Fund SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2007 (Unaudited)
Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (92.01%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apparel (1.71%) 1,200,000 Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., Cl A $ 33,320,021 $ 74,148,000 Business Services (9.51%) 2,000,000 Brown & Brown, Inc. 46,427,538 47,000,000 2,399,500 ChoicePoint, Inc./(1)(4)/ 25,259,318 87,389,790 900,000 FactSet Research Systems, Inc. 52,974,185 50,130,000 600,000 IHS, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 28,072,414 36,336,000 2,675,000 Iron Mountain, Inc./(1)/ 56,581,338 99,028,500 250,000 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc./(2)/ 18,819,074 20,675,000 1,150,000 Robert Half Intl., Inc. 1,202,006 31,096,000 1,300,000 SEI Investments Co. 24,895,335 41,821,000 ------------ ------------ 254,231,208 413,476,290 Communications (1.98%) 300,000 Equinix, Inc./(1)/ 25,506,560 30,321,000 350,000 NII Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 18,811,028 16,912,000 1,150,000 SBA Communications Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 40,601,981 38,916,000 ------------ ------------ 84,919,569 86,149,000 Consulting (2.01%) 550,000 Corporate Executive Board Co. 46,226,914 33,055,000 2,700,000 Gartner, Inc./(1)/ 66,668,546 47,412,000 200,000 Moody's Corp. 5,136,492 7,140,000 ------------ ------------ 118,031,952 87,607,000 Consumer Services (0.02%) 275,600 Alibaba.com, Ltd., 144A/(1)(2)/ 484,834 994,965 Distribution (2.14%) 1,350,000 Fastenal Co. 54,551,049 54,567,000 950,000 MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., Cl A 47,569,621 38,446,500 ------------ ------------ 102,120,670 93,013,500 Education (1.52%) 1,275,000 DeVry, Inc. 7,614,588 66,249,000 Energy Services (8.71%) 1,100,000 Covanta Holding Corp./(1)/ 25,867,926 30,426,000 1,200,000 Helmerich & Payne, Inc. 38,464,161 48,084,000 520,000 Petroplus Holdings AG, 144A/(1)(2)/ 36,057,075 40,280,882 70,000 SandRidge Energy, Inc./(1)/ 1,820,000 2,510,200 500,000 SEACOR Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 14,322,278 46,370,000 525,000 SunPower Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 22,142,131 68,454,750 200,000 Ultra Petroleum Corp./(1)/ 4,847,419 14,300,000 2,500,000 XTO Energy, Inc. 13,602,028 128,400,000 ------------ ------------ 157,123,018 378,825,832 Financial Services -- Asset Management (4.25%) 600,000 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. 24,584,256 45,150,000 2,000,000 Eaton Vance Corp. 54,244,546 90,820,000 800,000 T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 21,584,167 48,704,000 ------------ ------------ 100,412,969 184,674,000 Financial Services -- Banking (0.86%) 625,000 City National Corp. 45,241,255 37,218,750 Financial Services -- Brokerage & Exchanges (12.51%) 1,925,000 Bolsa de Mercadorias e Futuros, 144A/(2)/ 21,677,928 27,036,517 1,910,800 Bovespa Holding SA, 144A/(2)/ 24,712,326 36,820,472 8,800,000 Charles Schwab Corp. 21,422,499 224,840,000 255,000 CME Group, Inc. 18,498,370 174,930,000 200,000 IntercontinentalExchange, Inc./(1)/ 26,174,215 38,500,000 1,815,000 Jefferies Group, Inc. 51,452,427 41,835,750 ------------ ------------ 163,937,765 543,962,739 Financial Services -- Insurance (3.64%) 1,300,000 Arch Capital Group, Ltd./(1)(2)/ 54,246,056 91,455,000 1,000,000 Assurant, Inc. 37,153,168 66,900,000 ------------ ------------ 91,399,224 158,355,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services -- Miscellaneous (0.30%) 400,000 Redecard SA, GDR 144A/(2)/ $ 13,641,149 $ 12,943,840 Gaming Services (1.15%) 1,500,000 Scientific Games Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 45,507,788 49,875,000 Government Services (1.27%) 2,750,000 SAIC, Inc./(1)/ 49,157,711 55,330,000 Healthcare Facilities (2.04%) 1,300,000 Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. 54,371,093 36,933,000 1,400,000 Community Health Systems, Inc./(1)/ 42,469,811 51,604,000 ------------ ------------ 96,840,904 88,537,000 Healthcare Products (2.62%) 1,150,000 DENTSPLY International, Inc. 25,389,865 51,773,000 800,000 Henry Schein, Inc./(1)/ 22,796,151 49,120,000 200,000 Zimmer Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 6,087,903 13,230,000 ------------ ------------ 54,273,919 114,123,000 Healthcare Services (7.70%) 850,000 Covance, Inc./(1)/ 50,799,180 73,627,000 1,230,000 IDEXX Laboratories, Inc./(1)/ 51,189,620 72,114,900 1,200,000 Stericycle, Inc./(1)/ 37,558,043 71,280,000 850,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc./(1)/ 24,522,276 49,028,000 1,550,000 VCA Antech, Inc./(1)/ 54,259,104 68,556,500 ------------ ------------ 218,328,223 334,606,400 Healthcare Services -- Insurance (1.16%) 575,000 WellPoint, Inc./(1)/ 14,030,049 50,444,750 Hotels and Lodging (0.65%) 850,000 Choice Hotels Intl., Inc. 4,185,563 28,220,000 Manufacturing (0.73%) 700,000 Embraer - Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A., ADR/(2)/ 28,624,174 31,913,000 Media (1.66%) 1,500,000 Lamar Advertising Co., Cl A/(1)/ 84,423,700 72,105,000 Real Estate (1.61%) 2,150,000 CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 29,735,448 46,332,500 425,532 Corrections Corp. of America/(1)/ 1,419 12,557,449 250,000 Forest City Enterprises, Inc., Cl A 11,019,673 11,110,000 ------------ ------------ 40,756,540 69,999,949 Real Estate -- REITs (3.40%) 314,000 Alexander's, Inc./(1)(5)/ 20,453,936 110,920,500 800,000 Douglas Emmett, Inc. 17,052,243 18,088,000 200,000 SL Green Realty Corp. 16,753,741 18,692,000 ------------ ------------ 54,259,920 147,700,500 Recreation and Resorts (8.71%) 1,300,000 Boyd Gaming Corp. 54,856,924 44,291,000 3,000,000 Vail Resorts, Inc./(1)(5)/ 61,273,805 161,430,000 155,000 Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 1,068,024 17,380,150 1,459,408 Wynn Resorts, Ltd./(3)/ 21,345,164 155,461,248 ------------ ------------ 138,543,917 378,562,398 Restaurants (0.71%) 1,300,000 Cheesecake Factory, Inc./(1)/ 30,439,703 30,823,000 Retail -- Consumer Staples (1.17%) 1,250,000 Whole Foods Market, Inc. 41,811,475 51,000,000 Retail -- Specialty Stores (3.55%) 1,600,000 CarMax, Inc./(1)/ 25,789,558 31,600,000 1,050,000 Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc./(1)/ 30,134,570 29,148,000 900,000 O'Reilly Automotive, Inc./(1)/ 26,139,928 29,187,000 1,400,000 Tiffany & Co. 47,758,983 64,442,000 ------------ ------------ 129,823,039 154,377,000 Software (0.21%) 500,000 Nuance Communications, Inc./(1)/ 8,985,814 9,340,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transportation (2.96%) 1,550,000 C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. $ 30,028,921 $ 83,886,000 1,000,000 Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 26,231,901 44,680,000 -------------- -------------- 56,260,822 128,566,000 Utility Services (1.55%) 2,300,000 Southern Union Co. 30,218,480 67,528,000 -------------- -------------- Total Common Stocks 2,298,949,963 4,000,668,913 -------------- -------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Private Equity Investments (3.26%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Education (0.00%) 105,264 Apollo International, Inc. S-A Conv. Pfd./(1)(3)(5)/ 800,006 0 Financial Services -- Asset Management (1.29%) 5,600,004 Windy City Investments Holdings LLC/(1)(3)/ (formerly Nuveen Investments, Inc., Cl A) 31,960,710 56,000,035 Healthcare Services (0.41%) 6,841 Somerford Corp. S-A Conv. Pfd./(1)(3)/ 10,951,003 18,000,773 Recreation and Resorts (1.56%) 5,200,000 Kerzner Intl. Holdings, Ltd., Cl A/(1)(2)(3)/ 52,000,000 67,600,000 -------------- -------------- Total Private Equity Investments 95,711,719 141,600,808 -------------- -------------- Principal Amount --------------------------------------------- -------------- -------------- Short Term Investments (5.55%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Money Market Instruments $241,444,716 Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 12/31/2007, 1.10% due 01/02/2008; Proceeds at maturity - $241,459,470; (Fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury Note, 5.00% due 08/15/2011; Market value - $96,975,000 and U.S. Treasury Note, 4.50% due 02/28/2011; Market value - $117,379,300 and U.S. Treasury Note, 3.625% due 12/31/2012; Market value $31,923,281) 241,444,716 241,444,716 -------------- -------------- Total Investments (100.82%) $2,636,106,398 4,383,714,437 ============== Liabilities Less Cash and Other Assets (-0.82%) (35,801,822) -------------- Net Assets (Equivalent to $63.77 per share based on 68,181,087 shares outstanding) $4,347,912,615 ============== - ---------------- % Represents percentage of net assets. /(1)/ Non-income producing securities. /(2)/ Foreign domiciled corporation. /(3)/ Restricted and Fair Valued Securities. /(4)/ Represents securities or a portion thereof, in segregated custodian account. /(5)/ An "affiliated" investment may include any company in which the Fund owns 5% or more of its outstanding voting shares. /ADR/ American Depositary Receipt. /GDR/ Global Depositary Receipt. /144A/ Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. This security may be resold in transactions that are exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. This security has been deemed liquid pursuant to guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees, unless otherwise noted. See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Baron Growth Fund SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2007 (Unaudited) Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (85.95%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertising Services (0.32%) 450,000 Harte-Hanks, Inc. $ 7,987,320 $ 7,785,000 550,000 National CineMedia, Inc. 13,700,128 13,865,500 ------------ ------------ 21,687,448 21,650,500 Apparel (1.94%) 2,700,000 Carter's, Inc./(1)/ 35,977,021 52,245,000 1,850,000 Under Armour, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 69,525,189 80,789,500 ------------ ------------ 105,502,210 133,034,500 Automotive Parts (3.17%) 2,725,000 Copart, Inc./(1)/ 69,029,357 115,948,750 4,817,316 LKQ Corp./(1)/ 65,314,216 101,259,982 ------------ ------------ 134,343,573 217,208,732 Building Materials (0.26%) 1,050,000 Apogee Enterprises, Inc. 22,159,215 17,965,500 Business Services (2.21%) 600,000 Brown & Brown, Inc. 9,830,330 14,100,000 1,474,800 ChoicePoint, Inc./(1)(4)/ 31,146,069 53,712,216 40,000 FactSet Research Systems, Inc. 2,040,491 2,228,000 387,100 IHS, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 15,877,527 23,442,776 4,000,000 Integrated Distribution Services Group, Ltd./(2)/ 15,141,069 12,311,796 102,500 MSCI, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 2,609,245 3,936,000 509,065 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Inc./(2)/ 36,049,076 42,099,676 ------------ ------------ 112,693,807 151,830,464 Communications (2.39%) 1,050,000 Equinix, Inc./(1)/ 34,189,968 106,123,500 1,700,000 SBA Communications Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 6,533,038 57,528,000 ------------ ------------ 40,723,006 163,651,500 Consulting (0.19%) 750,000 Gartner, Inc./(1)/ 16,609,455 13,170,000 Consumer Products (1.63%) 1,575,000 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. 58,038,013 85,160,250 990,720 Marvel Entertainment, Inc./(1)/ 25,326,761 26,462,131 ------------ ------------ 83,364,774 111,622,381 Consumer Services (3.15%) 1,350,000 Chemed Corp./(5)/ 51,815,546 75,438,000 1,200,000 Morningstar, Inc./(1)/ 26,102,655 93,300,000 1,250,000 Sotheby's 44,184,540 47,625,000 ------------ ------------ 122,102,741 216,363,000 Education (4.54%) 3,700,000 DeVry, Inc./(5)/ 62,024,338 192,252,000 700,000 Strayer Education, Inc. 57,859,739 119,406,000 ------------ ------------ 119,884,077 311,658,000 Energy Services (8.14%) 550,000 Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc./(1)/ 21,415,856 30,112,500 400,000 Core Laboratories N.V./(1)(2)/ 19,417,274 49,888,000 800,000 Dresser-Rand Group, Inc./(1)/ 19,155,509 31,240,000 3,100,000 Encore Acquisition Co./(1)(5)/ 51,499,113 103,447,000 1,450,000 EXCO Resources, Inc./(1)/ 21,822,215 22,446,000 2,200,000 FMC Technologies, Inc./(1)/ 25,188,996 124,740,000 1,050,000 Helmerich & Payne, Inc. 24,393,872 42,073,500 637,500 PHI, Inc./(1)/ 18,390,290 19,775,250 487,500 Range Resources Corp. 8,333,342 25,038,000 500,101 SEACOR Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 23,391,927 46,379,367 1,000,000 TETRA Technologies, Inc./(1)/ 19,734,314 15,570,000 650,000 Whiting Petroleum Corp./(1)/ 22,550,925 37,479,000 275,000 Willbros Group, Inc./(1)(2)/ 9,445,483 10,529,750 ------------ ------------ 284,739,116 558,718,367 Financial Services -- Asset Management (1.61%) 1,950,000 Cohen & Steers, Inc. 38,355,016 58,441,500 650,000 Eaton Vance Corp. 11,290,146 29,516,500 325,000 GAMCO Investors, Inc., Cl A 6,570,340 22,490,000 ------------ ------------ 56,215,502 110,448,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services -- Banking (3.82%) 700,000 Cathay General Bancorp $ 25,462,218 $ 18,543,000 500,000 Center Financial Corp. 10,974,020 6,160,000 800,000 Central Pacific Financial Corp. 28,316,418 14,768,000 875,000 Frontier Financial Corp. 20,969,282 16,248,750 1,200,000 Glacier Bancorp, Inc. 28,784,986 22,488,000 1,700,000 SVB Financial Group/(1)(5)/ 85,140,344 85,680,000 4,500,000 UCBH Holdings, Inc. 89,138,096 63,720,000 1,150,000 Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc./(1)/ 22,047,505 13,489,500 1,125,000 Western Alliance Bancorporation/(1)/ 37,506,290 21,116,250 ------------ ------------ 348,339,159 262,213,500 Financial Services -- Brokerage & Exchanges (3.00%) 863,400 Evercore Partners, Inc., Cl A 23,023,249 18,606,270 1,350,000 FCStone Group, Inc./(1)/ 27,554,759 62,140,500 4,800,000 Jefferies Group, Inc. 73,517,475 110,640,000 1,050,000 Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc./(1)/ 19,552,422 14,416,500 ------------ ------------ 143,647,905 205,803,270 Financial Services -- Insurance (1.74%) 1,650,000 Arch Capital Group, Ltd./(1)(2)/ 51,045,431 116,077,500 200,000 CNinsure, Inc., ADR/(1)(2)/ 3,287,879 3,150,000 ------------ ------------ 54,333,310 119,227,500 Financial Services -- Miscellaneous (1.47%) 775,000 Bankrate, Inc./(1)/ 34,529,128 37,269,750 1,400,000 National Financial Partners Corp. 73,758,637 63,854,000 ------------ ------------ 108,287,765 101,123,750 Food (1.24%) 1,400,000 Ralcorp Holdings, Inc./(1)(5)/ 53,671,573 85,106,000 Gaming Services (0.63%) 1,300,000 Scientific Games Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 32,010,748 43,225,000 Healthcare Facilities (1.65%) 2,000,000 Community Health Systems, Inc./(1)/ 49,858,101 73,720,000 724,600 Emeritus Corp./(1)/ 21,783,313 18,223,690 500,000 Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 7,872,341 7,315,000 800,000 Sun Healthcare Group, Inc./(1)/ 9,382,532 13,736,000 ------------ ------------ 88,896,287 112,994,690 Healthcare Products (1.58%) 2,000,000 Edwards Lifesciences Corp./(1)/ 59,602,587 91,980,000 850,000 PSS World Medical, Inc./(1)/ 17,338,615 16,634,500 ------------ ------------ 76,941,202 108,614,500 Healthcare Services (5.58%) 1,050,000 Charles River Laboratories Intl., Inc./(1)/ 30,142,796 69,090,000 800,000 Gen-Probe, Inc./(1)/ 33,725,299 50,344,000 1,700,000 Healthways, Inc./(1)/ 78,382,922 99,348,000 7,188,166 HLTH Corp./(1)/ 101,715,547 96,321,424 320,000 IDEXX Laboratories, Inc./(1)/ 9,006,923 18,761,600 800,000 NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 14,085,701 16,840,000 1,275,000 Odyssey HealthCare, Inc./(1)/ 14,491,981 14,101,500 400,700 VCA Antech, Inc./(1)/ 11,830,115 17,722,961 ------------ ------------ 293,381,284 382,529,485 Healthcare Services -- Insurance (2.10%) 2,500,000 AMERIGROUP Corp./(1)/ 42,527,141 91,125,000 1,400,000 Centene Corp./(1)/ 11,768,729 38,416,000 350,000 WellCare Health Plans, Inc./(1)/ 14,470,084 14,843,500 ------------ ------------ 68,765,954 144,384,500 Hotels and Lodging (1.14%) 2,210,900 Choice Hotels Intl., Inc. 48,909,219 73,401,880 575,000 Kingdom Hotel Investments, GDR/(1)(2)/ 5,149,127 4,686,250 ------------ ------------ 54,058,346 78,088,130 See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Infrastructure (2.77%) 3,451,222 AECOM Technology Corp./(1)/ $ 77,780,252 $ 98,601,413 725,000 Layne Christensen Co./(1)/ 39,718,603 35,677,250 1,375,000 Macquarie Infrastructure Co. 48,580,661 55,728,750 ------------ ------------ 166,079,516 190,007,413 Leisure (0.37%) 790,000 Allegiant Travel Co./(1)/ 25,093,767 25,390,600 Media (1.05%) 600,000 Central European Media Enterprises, Ltd., Cl A/(1)(2)/ 29,408,871 69,588,000 172,191 TechTarget, Inc./(1)/ 2,490,137 2,544,983 ------------ ------------ 31,899,008 72,132,983 Real Estate (2.59%) 4,950,000 CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 35,102,586 106,672,500 925,000 CoStar Group, Inc./(1)/ 39,770,736 43,706,250 1,000,000 HFF, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 18,032,791 7,740,000 550,000 St. Joe Company 17,715,292 19,530,500 ------------ ------------ 110,621,405 177,649,250 Real Estate -- Home Building (0.58%) 1,050,000 Brookfield Homes Corp. 35,280,147 16,590,000 625,000 M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. 31,144,412 23,206,250 ------------ ------------ 66,424,559 39,796,250 Real Estate -- REITs (2.12%) 1,475,000 Acadia Realty Trust 39,458,028 37,774,750 136,838 Alexander's, Inc./(1)/ 29,189,317 48,338,023 1,500,000 Digital Realty Trust, Inc. 54,621,488 57,555,000 325,000 Winthrop Realty Trust 1,762,869 1,719,250 ------------ ------------ 125,031,702 145,387,023 Recreation and Resorts (6.84%) 2,850,000 Ameristar Casinos, Inc. 67,561,095 78,489,000 200,000 Boyd Gaming Corp. 5,345,492 6,814,000 1,600,000 Gaylord Entertainment Co./(1)/ 75,047,903 64,752,000 1,450,000 Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc./(1)/ 30,683,260 19,966,500 575,000 Penn National Gaming, Inc./(1)/ 16,140,523 34,241,250 2,900,000 Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc./(1)/ 91,266,677 68,324,000 877,978 Steiner Leisure, Ltd./(1)(5)/ 41,430,816 38,771,508 1,250,000 Vail Resorts, Inc./(1)/ 21,897,070 67,262,500 300,000 Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 4,914,968 33,639,000 537,677 Wynn Resorts, Ltd./(3)/ 7,863,993 57,275,236 ------------ ------------ 362,151,797 469,534,994 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurants (2.85%) 1,350,000 California Pizza Kitchen, Inc./(1)/ $ 23,047,680 $ 21,019,500 3,675,000 Cheesecake Factory, Inc./(1)(5)/ 85,772,814 87,134,250 91,193 Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 3,795,605 13,411,755 1,500,000 Panera Bread Co., Cl A/(1)/ 60,936,852 53,730,000 700,000 Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc./(1)(5)/ 15,273,681 20,349,000 ------------ ------------ 188,826,632 195,644,505 Retail -- Consumer Staples (0.38%) 1,500,000 China Nepstar Chain Drugstore, Ltd., ADR/(1)(2)/ 27,589,512 26,370,000 Retail -- Specialty Stores (8.08%) 800,000 Blue Nile, Inc./(1)/ 23,190,334 54,448,000 1,450,000 Cabela's, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 31,369,175 21,851,500 3,300,000 CarMax, Inc./(1)/ 34,948,928 65,175,000 5,000,000 Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc./(1)/ 86,074,246 138,800,000 1,500,000 DSW, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 37,572,261 28,140,000 2,900,000 J. Crew Group, Inc./(1)/ 93,937,342 139,809,000 4,500,000 Penske Automotive Group, Inc. 92,701,894 78,570,000 625,000 Tractor Supply Co./(1)/ 24,758,679 22,462,500 307,725 Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc./(1)/ 8,815,819 5,277,484 -------------- -------------- 433,368,678 554,533,484 Software (0.57%) 2,000,000 Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc./(1)/ 54,185,775 38,840,000 Transportation (1.91%) 750,000 Aircastle, Ltd. 24,183,365 19,747,500 1,000,000 American Railcar Industries, Inc. 24,363,154 19,250,000 2,000,000 Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 32,221,169 48,340,000 550,000 Landstar System, Inc. 13,610,267 23,182,500 1,050,000 UTI Worldwide, Inc./(2)/ 24,275,698 20,580,000 -------------- -------------- 118,653,653 131,100,000 Utility Services (2.34%) 2,000,000 ITC Holdings Corp. 57,396,900 112,840,000 1,627,498 Southern Union Co. 19,474,277 47,783,341 -------------- -------------- 76,871,177 160,623,341 -------------- -------------- Total Common Stocks 4,229,155,638 5,897,641,112 -------------- -------------- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Private Equity Investments (4.73%) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services -- Asset Management (0.27%) 1,885,000 Windy City Investments Holdings LLC/(1)(3)/ (formerly Nuveen Investments, Inc., Cl A) 7,748,686 18,850,000 Pharmaceutical (0.36%) 750,000 Reliant Pharmaceuticals LLC, Series D/(1)(3)/ 15,000,000 25,029,750 Recreation and Resorts (4.08%) 14,400,000 FC Co-Investment Partners, L.P./(1)(3)(5)/ (formerly Station Casinos, Inc.) 37,183,676 144,000,000 3,166,666 Fontainebleau Resorts, LLC/(1)(3)/ 34,999,992 37,999,992 15 Island Global Yachting IV L.P./(1)(3)(6)/ 1,450,891 1,450,600 7,400,000 Kerzner Intl. Holdings, Ltd., Cl A/(1)(2)(3)/ 74,000,000 96,200,000 -------------- -------------- 147,634,559 279,650,592 Transportation (0.02%) 234,375 EOS Airlines, Inc., Cl C/(1)(3)/ 2,500,001 1,368,985 -------------- -------------- Total Private Equity Investments 172,883,246 324,899,327 -------------- -------------- See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Principal Amount Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Investments (8.72%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Money Market Instruments $597,671,011 Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 12/31/2007, 1.10% due 01/02/2008; Proceeds at maturity - $597,707,535; (Fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury Bond, 7.625% due 02/15/2025; Market value - $1,325,250 and U.S. Treasury Note, 4.125% due 05/15/2015; Market value $102,125,000 and U.S. Treasury Note, 4.50% due 02/15/2016; Market value $23,237,500 and U.S. Treasury Note, 4.875% due 08/15/2016; Market value $69,935,363 and U.S. Treasury Note, 3.625% due 12/31/2012; Market value $108,192,000 and U.S. Treasury Note, 6.50% due 02/15/2010; Market value $51,358,425 and U.S. Treasury Note, 5.75% due 08/15/2010; Market value $76,212,500 and U.S. Treasury Note, 4.50% due 02/28/2011; Market value $177,245,275) $ 597,671,011 $ 597,671,011 338,295 State Street Eurodollar Time Deposit, 1.20% due 01/02/2008 338,295 338,295 -------------- -------------- Total Short Term Investments 598,009,306 598,009,306 -------------- -------------- Total Investments (99.40%) $5,000,048,190 6,820,549,745 ============== Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.60%) 41,181,733 -------------- Net Assets (Equivalent to $50.67 per share based on 135,414,576 shares outstanding) $6,861,731,478 ============== - ---------------- % Represents percentage of net assets. /(1)/ Non-income producing securities. /(2)/ Foreign domiciled corporation. /(3)/ Restricted and Fair Valued Securities. /(4)/ Represents securities or a portion thereof, in segregated custodian account. /(5)/ An "affiliated" investment may include any company in which the Fund owns 5% or more of its outstanding voting shares. /(6)/ Investment in partnership units. To date, invested $1,450,891 out of a capital commitment of $5,000,000. /ADR/ American Depositary Receipt. /GDR/ Global Depositary Receipt. See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Baron Small Cap Fund SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2007 (Unaudited) Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (91.06%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertising Services (1.75%) 2,500,000 National CineMedia, Inc./(5)/ $ 60,823,588 $ 63,025,000 Apparel (2.32%) 1,350,000 Carter's, Inc./(1)/ 22,342,106 26,122,500 858,609 Fossil, Inc./(1)/ 19,011,749 36,044,406 2,500,000 Quiksilver, Inc./(1)/ 20,155,099 21,450,000 ------------ ------------ 61,508,954 83,616,906 Building Materials (1.23%) 1,250,000 Eagle Materials, Inc. 23,694,578 44,350,000 Business Services (1.82%) 300,000 ChoicePoint, Inc./(1)/ 2,828,594 10,926,000 1,462,500 Iron Mountain, Inc./(1)/ 10,010,524 54,141,750 12,500 MSCI, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 225,000 480,000 ------------ ------------ 13,064,118 65,547,750 Communications (5.96%) 1,750,000 American Tower Corp., Cl A/(1)(4)/ 6,402,929 74,550,000 700,000 Cogent Communications Group, Inc./(1)/ 16,967,485 16,597,000 2,750,000 SBA Communications Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 27,026,677 93,060,000 1,500,000 Time Warner Telecom, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 24,518,321 30,435,000 ------------ ------------ 74,915,412 214,642,000 Consulting (2.14%) 650,000 Corporate Executive Board Co. 27,774,516 39,065,000 2,150,000 Gartner, Inc./(1)/ 47,433,119 37,754,000 ------------ ------------ 75,207,635 76,819,000 Consumer Products (2.59%) 750,000 ACCO Brands Corp./(1)/ 17,460,611 12,030,000 1,500,000 DTS, Inc./(1)(5)/ 30,934,334 38,355,000 1,600,000 Marvel Entertainment, Inc./(1)/ 36,855,202 42,736,000 ------------ ------------ 85,250,147 93,121,000 Education (4.31%) 102,000 American Public Education, Inc./(1)/ 2,040,000 4,261,560 553,199 Capella Education Co./(1)/ 19,794,628 36,212,407 70,000 K12, Inc./(1)/ 1,260,000 1,811,600 3,889,402 SkillSoft PLC, ADR/(1)(2)/ 29,074,743 37,182,683 444,000 Strayer Education, Inc. 37,452,157 75,737,520 ------------ ------------ 89,621,528 155,205,770 Energy Services (7.08%) 2,500,000 Covanta Holding Corp./(1)/ 38,709,339 69,150,000 100,000 Linn Energy LLC 3,654,627 2,503,000 300,000 Linn Energy LLC/(3)/ 10,050,000 7,133,550 857,500 PHI, Inc./(1)/ 24,669,136 26,599,650 1,000,000 SunPower Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 28,341,336 130,390,000 500,000 Willbros Group, Inc./(1)(2)/ 17,047,805 19,145,000 ------------ ------------ 122,472,243 254,921,200 Environmental (1.89%) 850,000 Clean Harbors, Inc./(1)/ 44,951,237 43,945,000 1,000,000 Nalco Holding Co. 17,014,844 24,180,000 ------------ ------------ 61,966,081 68,125,000 Financial Services -- Asset Management (1.30%) 1,250,000 GLG Partners, Inc./(1)/ (formerly Freedom Acquisition Holdings, Inc.) 13,645,796 17,000,000 1,300,000 GLG Partners, Inc., Units/(1)(6)/ (formerly Freedom Acquisition Holdings, Inc., Units) 14,215,000 26,299,000 300,000 Pzena Investment Management, Inc., Cl A 5,702,209 3,420,000 ------------ ------------ 33,563,005 46,719,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services -- Insurance (0.39%) 200,000 Arch Capital Group, Ltd./(1)(2)/ $ 5,515,966 $ 14,070,000 Financial Services -- Miscellaneous (1.52%) 750,000 Bankrate, Inc./(1)/ 34,355,040 36,067,500 1,325,000 KKR Financial Holdings LLC 28,400,495 18,616,250 ------------ ------------ 62,755,535 54,683,750 Food (1.06%) 3,500,000 Smart Balance, Inc./(1)(5)/ 33,367,601 38,255,000 Gaming Services (0.12%) 1,000,000 Cash Systems, Inc./(1)(5)/ 6,420,000 4,420,000 Government Services (6.09%) 1,500,000 AeroVironment, Inc./(1)(5)/ 34,673,956 36,300,000 2,750,000 FLIR Systems, Inc./(1)/ 22,163,891 86,075,000 2,500,000 L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc./(1)/ 43,586,514 44,875,000 1,623,700 Stanley, Inc./(1)(5)/ 24,735,335 51,990,874 ------------ ------------ 125,159,696 219,240,874 Healthcare Facilities (2.76%) 1,400,000 Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. 34,154,493 39,774,000 1,500,000 Emeritus Corp./(1)/ 45,585,857 37,725,000 1,500,000 Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 23,639,113 21,945,000 ------------ ------------ 103,379,463 99,444,000 Healthcare Services (2.49%) 112,500 athenahealth, Inc./(1)/ 2,025,000 4,050,000 475,000 Gen-Probe, Inc./(1)/ 21,507,724 29,891,750 850,000 inVentiv Health, Inc./(1)/ 25,051,722 26,316,000 1,389,457 NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 28,013,164 29,248,070 ------------ ------------ 76,597,610 89,505,820 Hotels and Lodging (2.16%) 4,250,484 Kingdom Hotel Investments, GDR/(1)(2)/ 37,942,684 34,641,444 18,234,000 Mandarin Oriental International, Ltd./(2)/ 36,817,282 43,032,240 ------------ ------------ 74,759,966 77,673,684 Machinery & Electronics (1.07%) 400,000 Flowserve Corp. 11,782,709 38,480,000 Manufacturing (5.54%) 1,700,000 Actuant Corp., Cl A 29,848,706 57,817,000 932,900 HEICO Corp., Cl A 25,105,956 39,741,540 1,200,000 Rubicon Technology, Inc./(1)(5)/ 19,700,982 28,500,000 1,625,000 TransDigm Group, Inc./(1)/ 45,109,665 73,401,250 ------------ ------------ 119,765,309 199,459,790 Media (0.99%) 1,500,000 CKX, Inc./(1)/ 17,362,764 18,000,000 600,000 Dolan Media/(1)/ 10,869,263 17,502,000 ------------ ------------ 28,232,027 35,502,000 Medical Equipment (7.11%) 1,750,000 American Medical Systems Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 30,654,715 25,305,000 150,000 Hansen Medical, Inc./(1)/ 4,260,390 4,491,000 1,600,000 Immucor, Inc./(1)/ 6,462,595 54,384,000 225,000 Intuitive Surgical, Inc./(1)/ 3,262,500 73,012,500 715,000 Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc./(1)/ 33,700,048 40,168,700 1,000,000 Masimo Corp./(1)/ 20,859,070 39,450,000 500,000 Nanosphere, Inc./(1)/ 7,014,820 6,995,000 625,000 TomoTherapy, Inc./(1)/ 12,560,863 12,225,000 ------------ ------------ 118,775,001 256,031,200 Minerals & Mining (1.46%) 100,000 Haynes International, Inc./(1)/ 7,823,001 6,950,000 575,000 Kaiser Aluminum Corp. 36,144,629 45,701,000 ------------ ------------ 43,967,630 52,651,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Shares Cost Value - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miscellaneous (0.76%) 2,500,000 Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corp., Units/(1)(6)/ $ 25,000,000 $ 27,250,000 Real Estate (1.79%) 2,500,000 CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 24,312,255 53,875,000 1,376,000 HFF, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 25,022,060 10,650,240 -------------- -------------- 49,334,315 64,525,240 Real Estate -- Home Building (0.48%) 1,100,000 Brookfield Homes Corp. 25,136,699 17,380,000 Real Estate -- REITs (1.51%) 950,000 Digital Realty Trust, Inc. 35,722,534 36,451,500 905,000 DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. 19,842,709 17,738,000 -------------- -------------- 55,565,243 54,189,500 Recreation and Resorts (7.62%) 2,000,000 Ameristar Casinos, Inc. 64,188,948 55,080,000 1,250,000 Gaylord Entertainment Co./(1)/ 37,368,434 50,587,500 2,964,000 Great Wolf Resorts, Inc./(1)(5)/ 54,717,005 29,076,840 1,401,700 Penn National Gaming, Inc./(1)/ 40,093,264 83,471,235 500,000 Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 3,524,270 56,065,000 -------------- -------------- 199,891,921 274,280,575 Restaurants (2.82%) 1,350,000 AFC Enterprises, Inc./(1)/ 19,817,261 15,282,000 1,850,000 Cheesecake Factory, Inc./(1)/ 44,427,838 43,863,500 220,000 Panera Bread Co., Cl A/(1)/ 5,815,466 7,880,400 3,117,800 Texas Roadhouse, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 39,336,295 34,482,868 -------------- -------------- 109,396,860 101,508,768 Retail -- Consumer Staples (2.81%) 3,250,000 Iconix Brand Group, Inc./(1)(5)/ 54,910,650 63,895,000 1,500,000 NuCO2, Inc./(1)(5)/ 36,204,728 37,350,000 -------------- -------------- 91,115,378 101,245,000 Retail -- Specialty Stores (4.94%) 1,161,400 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc./(1)(5)/ 32,632,519 16,201,530 2,564,856 Casual Male Retail Group, Inc./(1)(5)/ 14,983,513 13,285,954 900,000 Design Within Reach, Inc./(1)(5)/ 10,936,300 3,330,000 1,250,000 DSW, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 29,475,468 23,450,000 1,300,000 J. Crew Group, Inc./(1)/ 45,792,422 62,673,000 1,800,000 Penske Automotive Group, Inc. 34,504,900 31,428,000 1,600,000 Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc./(1)/ 35,487,168 27,440,000 -------------- -------------- 203,812,290 177,808,484 Transportation (3.18%) 2,000,000 Aircastle, Ltd. 60,488,913 52,660,000 600,000 Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., ADR/(2)/ 12,630,182 15,072,000 500,000 Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., ADR/(2)/ 16,830,373 22,315,000 400,000 Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V., ADR/(2)/ 11,806,186 24,488,000 -------------- -------------- 101,755,654 114,535,000 -------------- -------------- Total Common Stocks 2,373,574,162 3,278,232,311 -------------- -------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Private Equity Investments (1.26%) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recreation and Resorts 3,500,000 Kerzner Intl. Holdings, Ltd., Cl A/(1)(2)(3)/ 35,000,000 45,500,000 -------------- -------------- See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warrants (0.24%) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apparel (0.24%) 950,000 American Apparel,Inc. (formerly Endeavor Acquisition Corp.) Warrants Exp 12/14/2009/(1)/ $ 2,107,775 $ 8,550,000 Retail -- Specialty Stores (0.00%) 100,000 Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. Warrants Exp 07/02/2010/(1)(3)(5)/ 49,000 42,000 -------------- -------------- Total Warrants 2,156,775 8,592,000 -------------- -------------- Principal Amount - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Investments (6.61%) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Money Market Instruments $236,908,012 Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 12/31/2007, 1.10% due 01/02/2008; Proceeds at maturity - $236,922,489; (Fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury Note, 3.625% due 12/31/2012; Market value $241,650,938) $ 236,908,012 $ 236,908,012 1,155,647 State Street Eurodollar Time Deposit, 2.10% due 01/02/2008 1,155,647 1,155,647 -------------- -------------- Total Short Term Investments 238,063,659 238,063,659 -------------- -------------- Total Investments (99.17%) $2,648,794,596 3,570,387,970 ============== Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.83%) 29,753,346 -------------- Net Assets (Equivalent to $23.83 per share based on 151,100,355 shares outstanding) $3,600,141,316 ============== - ---------------- % Represents percentage of net assets. /(1)/ Non-income producing securities. /(2)/ Foreign domiciled corporation. /(3)/ Restricted and Fair Valued Securities. /(4)/ Represents securities or a portion thereof, in segregated custodian account. /(5)/ An "affiliated" investment may include any company in which the Fund owns 5% or more of its outstanding voting shares. /(6)/ One unit consists of one common share and one warrant. /ADR/ American Depositary Receipt. /GDR/ Global Depositary Receipt. See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Baron iOpportunity Fund SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2007 (Unaudited) Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (91.71%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertising Services (6.02%) 17,000 AirMedia Group, Inc., ADR/(1)(2)/ $ 255,000 $ 380,460 12,000 Google, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 1,572,728 8,297,760 160,000 National CineMedia, Inc. 3,902,852 4,033,600 ----------- ----------- 5,730,580 12,711,820 Business Services (9.11%) 40,000 Constant Contact, Inc./(1)/ 640,000 860,000 70,000 DealerTrack Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 2,838,490 2,342,900 20,000 FactSet Research Systems, Inc. 1,235,173 1,114,000 50,000 IHS, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 2,184,448 3,028,000 435,000 LivePerson, Inc./(1)/ 2,420,602 2,322,900 152,500 Monster Worldwide, Inc./(1)/ 3,373,960 4,941,000 50,000 NDS Group plc, ADR/(1)(2)/ 2,741,393 2,962,000 50,000 Omniture, Inc./(1)/ 1,415,030 1,664,500 ----------- ----------- 16,849,096 19,235,300 Communications (19.74%) 152,500 American Tower Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 2,681,965 6,496,500 200,000 Cogent Communications Group, Inc./(1)/ 3,435,995 4,742,000 92,000 Equinix, Inc./(1)/ 3,678,957 9,298,440 25,000 Neutral Tandem, Inc./(1)/ 350,000 475,500 148,000 NII Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 10,280,233 7,151,360 200,000 SBA Communications Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 4,166,828 6,768,000 450,000 Terremark Worldwide, Inc./(1)/ 2,488,229 2,925,000 189,000 Time Warner Telecom, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 3,312,274 3,834,810 ----------- ----------- 30,394,481 41,691,610 Communications Equipment (4.91%) 79,000 QUALCOMM, Inc. 2,983,090 3,108,650 64,000 Research in Motion, Ltd./(1)(2)/ 1,745,889 7,257,600 ----------- ----------- 4,728,979 10,366,250 Computer Technology (3.94%) 42,000 Apple, Inc./(1)/ 1,997,404 8,319,360 Consulting (1.58%) 190,000 Gartner, Inc./(1)/ 4,617,223 3,336,400 Consumer Services (2.37%) 68,900 Alibaba.com, Ltd., 144A/(1)(2)/ 121,209 248,741 10,000 MercadoLibre, Inc./(1)(2)/ 180,000 738,800 35,000 priceline.com, Inc./(1)/ 693,828 4,020,100 ----------- ----------- 995,037 5,007,641 Energy Services (0.61%) 83,000 Medis Technologies, Ltd./(1)/ 1,866,494 1,280,690 Financial Services -- Brokerage & Exchanges (13.96%) 307,500 Bolsa de Mercadorias e Futuros, 144A/(2)/ 3,983,746 4,318,820 133,800 Bovespa Holding SA, 144A/(2)/ 1,730,432 2,578,281 360,000 Charles Schwab Corp. 4,114,826 9,198,000 10,250 CME Group, Inc. 1,957,370 7,031,500 19,500 IntercontinentalExchange, Inc./(1)/ 2,688,873 3,753,750 77,000 optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. 1,343,144 2,604,140 ----------- ----------- 15,818,391 29,484,491 Financial Services -- Miscellaneous (3.51%) 80,000 Bankrate, Inc./(1)/ 3,155,198 3,847,200 110,000 Redecard SA, GDR 144A/(2)/ 3,758,990 3,559,556 ----------- ----------- 6,914,188 7,406,756 Gaming Services (1.14%) 72,500 Scientific Games Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 2,505,844 2,410,625 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthcare Services (2.01%) 37,500 athenahealth, Inc./(1)/ $ 675,000 $ 1,350,000 215,544 HLTH Corp./(1)/ 2,969,924 2,888,290 ------------ ------------ 3,644,924 4,238,290 Information Services (0.98%) 17,500 BladeLogic, Inc./(1)/ 297,500 517,475 195,000 Dice Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 2,444,111 1,558,050 ------------ ------------ 2,741,611 2,075,525 Information Technology Services (1.05%) 40,000 Fiserv, Inc./(1)/ 1,997,284 2,219,600 Leisure (4.11%) 120,000 Activision, Inc./(1)/ 1,653,134 3,564,000 87,500 Electronic Arts, Inc./(1)/ 4,662,803 5,110,875 ------------ ------------ 6,315,937 8,674,875 Machinery & Electronics (1.00%) 810,000 Kaboose, Inc. 144A/(1)(2)/ 2,242,972 2,109,226 Media (6.88%) 140,000 Knot, Inc./(1)/ 2,857,928 2,231,600 50,000 Lamar Advertising Co., Cl A/(1)/ 2,840,181 2,403,500 185,000 News Corp., Cl A 3,269,588 3,790,650 224,000 TechTarget, Inc./(1)/ 2,957,332 3,310,720 120,000 Yahoo!, Inc./(1)/ 2,120,135 2,791,200 ------------ ------------ 14,045,164 14,527,670 Real Estate (2.40%) 52,500 CoStar Group, Inc./(1)/ 1,791,166 2,480,625 1,060,000 Move, Inc./(1)/ 3,201,955 2,597,000 ------------ ------------ 4,993,121 5,077,625 Real Estate -- REITs (1.73%) 67,000 Digital Realty Trust, Inc. 2,660,382 2,570,790 55,500 DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. 1,186,000 1,087,800 ------------ ------------ 3,846,382 3,658,590 Retail -- Specialty Stores (1.05%) 675,000 drugstore.com, Inc./(1)/ 2,118,615 2,227,500 Software (3.61%) 112,500 Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc./(1)/ 2,601,655 2,184,750 200,000 Nuance Communications, Inc./(1)/ 2,571,262 3,736,000 20,000 VMware, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 580,000 1,699,800 ------------ ------------ 5,752,917 7,620,550 ------------ ------------ Total Common Stocks 140,116,644 193,680,394 ------------ ------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Warrants (0.00%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Media 200,000 Loudeye Corp. Warrants Exp 12/23/2010/(1)(3)/ 0 0 ------------ ------------ See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Principal Amount Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Investments (7.82%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Money Market Instruments $16,001,946 Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 12/31/2007, 1.10% due 01/02/2008; Proceeds at maturity - $16,002,925; (Fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury Note, 3.625% due 12/31/2012; Market value $16,326,406) $ 16,001,946 $ 16,001,946 507,712 State Street Eurodollar Time Deposit, 1.20% due 01/02/2008 507,712 507,712 ------------ ------------ Total Short Term Investments 16,509,658 16,509,658 ------------ ------------ Total Investments (99.53%) $156,626,302 210,190,052 ============ Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.47%) 992,505 ------------ Net Assets (Equivalent to $13.20 per share based on 15,995,885 shares outstanding) $211,182,557 ============ - ---------------- % Represents percentage of net assets. /(1)/ Non-income producing securities. /(2)/ Foreign domiciled corporation. /(3)/ Restricted and Fair Valued Securities. /ADR/ American Depositary Receipt. /GDR/ Global Depositary Receipt. /144A/ Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. This security may be resold in transactions that are exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. This security has been deemed liquid pursuant to guidelines approved by the Board of Trustees, unless otherwise noted. See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2007 (Unaudited) Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (99.70%) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertising Services (4.03%) 6,000 Google, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ $1,842,053 $ 4,148,880 Beverages (8.22%) 50,000 Diageo plc, ADR/(2)/ 3,358,276 4,291,500 55,000 PepsiCo, Inc. 3,306,599 4,174,500 ---------- ----------- 6,664,875 8,466,000 Business Services (5.82%) 44,000 Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 1,750,786 1,959,320 16,000 Ecolab, Inc. 700,606 819,360 24,000 FedEx Corp. 2,625,349 2,140,080 28,999 Iron Mountain, Inc./(1)/ 560,844 1,073,543 ---------- ----------- 5,637,585 5,992,303 Communications (6.20%) 26,000 America Movil S.A.B. de C.V., Series L ADR/(2)/ 1,647,008 1,596,140 84,000 American Tower Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 1,996,605 3,578,400 25,000 NII Holdings, Inc./(1)/ 1,890,944 1,208,000 ---------- ----------- 5,534,557 6,382,540 Computer Technology (7.32%) 21,000 Apple, Inc./(1)/ 913,796 4,159,680 95,000 Microsoft Corp. 2,417,453 3,382,000 ---------- ----------- 3,331,249 7,541,680 Consumer Products (3.99%) 56,000 Procter & Gamble Co. 3,074,675 4,111,520 Consumer Services (0.47%) 20,000 Western Union Co. 433,523 485,600 Distribution (1.65%) 42,000 Fastenal Co. 1,603,574 1,697,640 Energy Services (10.83%) 35,000 Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. 2,763,137 4,970,000 26,000 Transocean, Inc./(1)(2)/ 2,037,714 3,721,900 48,000 XTO Energy, Inc. 2,357,221 2,465,280 ---------- ----------- 7,158,072 11,157,180 Financial Services -- Asset Management (2.63%) 36,000 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. 1,950,070 2,709,000 See Notes to Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Services -- Banking (2.11%) 72,000 Wells Fargo & Company $ 2,529,498 $ 2,173,680 Financial Services -- Brokerage & Exchanges (7.05%) 150,000 Charles Schwab Corp. 1,861,969 3,832,500 5,000 CME Group, Inc. 1,121,168 3,430,000 ---------- ----------- 2,983,137 7,262,500 Financial Services -- Insurance (1.38%) 10 Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., Cl A/(1)/ 901,365 1,416,000 Financial Services -- Miscellaneous (2.78%) 55,000 American Express Co. 2,866,825 2,861,100 Food (3.21%) 35,000 Cadbury Schweppes plc, ADR/(2)/ 1,318,807 1,727,950 17,600 Groupe Danone/(2)/ 1,435,803 1,579,950 ---------- ----------- 2,754,610 3,307,900 Healthcare Services (1.46%) 26,000 Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc./(1)/ 1,484,894 1,499,680 Healthcare Services -- Insurance (3.60%) 32,000 UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 1,127,801 1,862,400 21,000 WellPoint, Inc./(1)/ 1,102,400 1,842,330 ---------- ----------- 2,230,201 3,704,730 Hotels and Lodging (2.15%) 35,000 Marriott International, Inc., Cl A 1,090,617 1,196,300 23,000 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 1,313,982 1,012,690 ---------- ----------- 2,404,599 2,208,990 See Notes of Schedule of Investments Shares Cost Value - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stocks (continued) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industrial Services (2.16%) 15,000 3M Co. $ 1,334,197 $ 1,264,800 11,000 Boeing Co. 1,044,998 962,060 ----------- ------------ 2,379,195 2,226,860 Media (6.37%) 120,000 Comcast Corp., Cl A/(1)/ 2,728,525 2,174,400 46,000 Lamar Advertising Co., Cl A/(1)/ 2,469,984 2,211,220 45,000 News Corp., Cl A 675,541 922,050 25,000 Time Warner, Inc. 468,349 412,750 36,000 Yahoo!, Inc./(1)/ 936,690 837,360 ----------- ------------ 7,279,089 6,557,780 Recreation and Resorts (3.34%) 16,000 Las Vegas Sands Corp./(1)/ 466,280 1,648,800 16,000 Wynn Resorts, Ltd. 1,042,347 1,794,080 ----------- ------------ 1,508,627 3,442,880 Restaurants (1.66%) 29,000 McDonald's Corp. 1,695,636 1,708,390 Retail -- Consumer Staples (6.98%) 70,000 CVS Caremark Corp. 2,299,353 2,782,500 40,000 Macy's, Inc. 1,416,754 1,034,800 43,000 Target Corp. 1,968,604 2,150,000 30,000 Whole Foods Market, Inc. 1,470,498 1,224,000 ----------- ------------ 7,155,209 7,191,300 Retail -- Specialty Stores (4.29%) 45,000 Coach, Inc./(1)/ 920,629 1,376,100 70,000 Home Depot, Inc. 2,632,859 1,885,800 25,000 Tiffany & Co. 785,845 1,150,750 ----------- ------------ 4,339,333 4,412,650 ----------- ------------ Total Common Stocks 79,742,451 102,666,783 ----------- ------------ Principal Amount ------------------------------------------------ ----------- ------------ Short Term Investments (0.13%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Term Money Market Instruments $127,132 Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corp., dated 12/31/2007, 1.10% due 01/02/2008; Proceeds at maturity - $127,140; (Fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury Note, 3.625% due 12/31/2012; Market value $130,813) 127,132 127,132 10,757 State Street Eurodollar Time Deposit, 1.20% due 01/02/2008 10,757 10,757 ----------- ------------ Total Short Term Investments 137,889 137,889 ----------- ------------ Total Investments (99.83%) $79,880,340 102,804,672 =========== Cash and Other Assets Less Liabilities (0.17%) 171,358 ------------ Net Assets (Equivalent to $12.72 per share based on 8,094,742 shares outstanding) $102,976,030 ============
- ---------------- % Represents percentage of net assets. /(1)/ Non-income producing securities. /(2)/ Foreign domiciled corporation. /ADR/ American Depositary Receipt. See Notes to Schedule of Investments. Notes to Schedules of Investments (Unaudited) Baron Investment Funds Trust (the "Trust") is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a diversified, open-end management investment company established as a Massachusetts business trust on February 19, 1987. The Trust currently offers five series (individually a "Fund" and collectively the "Funds"): Baron Asset Fund, Baron Growth Fund, Baron Small Cap Fund, Baron iOpportunity Fund, and Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund. Prior to October 22, 2004, the name of the Trust was Baron Asset Fund. 1.Security Valuation. Portfolio securities traded on any national stock exchange are valued based on the last sale price. For securities traded on NASDAQ, the Funds use the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Securities traded in foreign markets are valued using prices reported by local foreign markets and translated into U.S. dollars using the price of such foreign currencies at the time the net asset value is determined. Where market quotations are not readily available, or in the Adviser's judgment, they do not accurately reflect fair value of a security, or an event occurs after the market close but before the Funds are priced that materially affects the value of a security, the securities will be valued by the Adviser using procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. The Adviser has a fair valuation committee comprised of senior executives and certain Trustees. Factors the committee uses include whether a current price is stale, there is recent news, the security is thinly traded, transactions are infrequent, or quotations are genuine. There can be no assurance, however, that a fair valuation used by the Funds on any given day will more accurately reflect the market value of an investment than the closing price of such investment in its market. Debt instruments having a remaining maturity greater than sixty days will be valued at the highest bid price from the dealer maintaining an active market in that security or on the basis of prices obtained from a pricing service approved by the Board of Trustees. Money market instruments held by the Funds with a remaining maturity of sixty days or less are valued at amortized cost, which approximates value. 2. Cost of Investments for Income Tax Purposes. Aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes is substantially the same as book cost. At December 31, 2007 the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments for income tax purposes were substantially as follows:
Baron Baron Asset Baron Growth Baron Small Cap Baron /Opportunity Fifth Avenue Growth Fund Fund Fund Fund Fund -------------- -------------- --------------- ------------------ ------------------- Cost of investments $2,636,161,516 $5,008,295,779 $2,648,834,494 $158,571,753 $80,327,530 ============== ============== ============== ============ =========== Unrealized appreciation 1,855,979,480 2,119,424,387 1,095,264,732 60,997,019 26,878,822 Unrealized depreciation (108,426,559) (307,170,421) (173,711,256) (9,378,720) (4,401,680) -------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ ----------- Net unrealized appreciation $1,747,552,921 $1,812,253,966 $ 921,553,476 $ 51,618,299 $22,477,142 ============== ============== ============== ============ ===========
3. Transactions in "Affiliated" Companies/1/ BARON ASSET FUND
Balance of Gross Gross Sales Balance of Shares Held on Purchases and Shares Held on Value Name of Issuer Sept. 30, 2007 and Additions Reductions Dec. 31, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alexander's, Inc. 314,000 314,000 $110,920,500 Apollo International, Inc. S-A CV Pfd. 105,264 105,264 -- Vail Resorts, Inc. 3,000,000 3,000,000 161,430,000 ------------ Total investment in "affiliates" (6.26% of Net Assets) $272,350,500 ============
BARON GROWTH FUND
Balance of Gross Gross Sales Balance of Shares Held on Purchases and Shares Held on Value Name of Issuer Sept. 30, 2007 and Additions Reductions Dec. 31, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Blue Nile, Inc./2/ 800,000 800,000 $ -- Cheesecake Factory, Inc. 3,675,000 3,675,000 87,134,250 Chemed Corp. 1,350,000 1,350,000 75,438,000 DeVry, Inc. 3,700,000 3,700,000 192,252,000 Encore Acquisition Co. 3,100,000 3,100,000 103,447,000 FC Co-Investment Partners, L.P. (formerly Station Casinos, Inc.) -- 14,400,000 14,400,000 144,000,000 Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. 700,000 700,000 20,349,000 Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. 1,400,000 1,400,000 85,106,000 Select Comfort Corp./2/ 2,400,000 2,400,000 -- -- SVB Financial Group 1,700,000 1,700,000 85,680,000 Steiner Leisure Ltd. 877,978 877,978 38,771,508 ------------ Total investment in "affiliates" (12.13% of Net Assets) $832,177,758 ============
BARON SMALL CAP FUND
Balance of Gross Gross Sales Balance of Shares Held on Purchases and Shares Held on Value Name of Issuer Sept. 30, 2007 and Additions Reductions Dec. 31, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AFC Enterprises, Inc./2/ 2,250,000 900,000 1,350,000 $ -- AeroVironment, Inc. 1,500,000 1,500,000 36,300,000 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. 1,250,000 88,600 1,161,400 16,201,530 Cash Systems, Inc. 1,000,000 1,000,000 4,420,000 Casual Male Retail Group, Inc. 2,564,856 2,564,856 13,285,954 Casual Male Retail Group, Inc., Warrants Exp 07/02/2010 100,000 100,000 42,000 Design Within Reach, Inc. 900,000 900,000 3,330,000 DTS, Inc. 1,500,000 1,500,000 38,355,000 Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. 2,884,000 80,000 2,964,000 29,076,840 Iconix Brand Group, Inc. 3,250,000 3,250,000 63,895,000 National CineMedia, Inc. 2,250,000 250,000 2,500,000 63,025,000 NuCO2, Inc. 1,500,000 1,500,000 37,350,000 Rubicon Technology, Inc. 1,200,000 1,200,000 28,500,000 Smart Balance, Inc./3/ 1,671,000 1,829,000 3,500,000 38,255,000 Smart Balance, Inc., Units/4/ 525,000 525,000 -- -- Smart Balance, Inc., Warrants Exp 12/16/2009 /4/ 129,000 129,000 -- -- Stanley, Inc. 1,623,700 1,623,700 51,990,874 ------------ Total investment in "affiliates" (11.78% of Net Assets) $424,027,198 ============
- ----------- /1/ An "Affiliated" Company, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, is a company in which a Fund held 5% or more of the company's outstanding voting securities at any time during the three months ended December 31, 2007. /2/ As of December 31, 2007, no longer an affiliate. /3/ Increase due to exercise of of units/warrants and additional purchases. /4/ Decrease due to exercise of of units/warrants. For additional information regarding the Funds' other significant accounting policies, please refer to the Funds' most recent Annual or Semi-Annual shareholder report filed on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website, www.sec.gov. Item 2. Controls and Procedures. (a) The Registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 are effective based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report. (b) There were no changes in the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the Registrant's last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting. Item 3. Exhibits. (a) Separate certifications for the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Registrant, as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. Baron Investment Funds Trust By: /s/Ronald Baron ------------------------------------------ Ronald Baron Chief Executive Officer Date: February 29, 2008 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. By: /s/Ronald Baron ------------------------------------------ Ronald Baron Chief Executive Officer By: /s/ Peggy Wong ------------------------------------------ Peggy Wong Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Date: February 29, 2008 EX-99.CERT 3 nqcertifications1207.txt N-Q CERTIFICATIONS I, RONALD BARON, certify that: 1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-Q of Baron Investment Funds Trust; 2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the schedules of investments included in this report fairly present in all material respects the investments of the registrant as of the end of the fiscal quarter for which the report is filed; 4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have: (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within in those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such evaluation; and (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and 5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting. Date: February 29, 2008 /s/ Ronald Baron ---------------- Ronald Baron Chief Executive Officer I, PEGGY WONG, certify that: 1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-Q of Baron Investment Funds Trust; 2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the schedules of investments included in this report fairly present in all material respects the investments of the registrant as of the end of the fiscal quarter for which the report is filed; 4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have: (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within in those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such evaluation; and (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and 5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting. Date: February 29, 2008 /s/ Peggy Wong ---------------- Peggy Wong Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----