Eyes on the Buys: What the Buy-Side Looks for When Investing with Laird Bieger, Baron Capital Group

By ICR | Podcast

The buy-side has analysts that know your industry, so why don’t you know the universe of buyers? Asset managers have different strengths and different strategies. Knowing the players will help you find the best investment partner for your business. It also helps to know what they’re looking for. On this episode, Laird Bieger, Vice President and Portfolio Manager of the Discovery Fund at Baron Capital, gives us a peek behind the curtain of a successful fund. What makes them confident enough to invest in a business, and how can you position yourself to receive that investment?

Highlights: 

• The blessing and the curse of investing in small-cap off-the-radar businesses (7:10)
• Why the Discovery Fund focuses on specific subsectors (12:00)
• Why Laird loves talking to middle management when researching a company (13:46)
• The questions Laird asks to discern a company’s growth potential (16:37)
• What is a “shadow list” (17:53)
• Why you should be more transparent when things are going poorly (19:30)
• Why it can be beneficial to be conservative in your guidance estimates (20:52)
• The importance of a bulletproof balance sheet (22:08)

Links:

ICR Twitter

ICR LinkedIn

ICR Website

Laird Bieger LinkedIn

Baron Funds

Baron Capital Group LinkedIn

Baron Funds Twitter

Mentioned in this Episode:

Raven Industries

TradeDesk

Wingstop

HydraFacial

Floor & Decor

Tripadvisor

Sientra

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you’d like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, andrew@lowerstreet.co