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SIGNATURE LINDA S. MARTINSON
TITLE GENERAL COUNSEL
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
To the Board of Directors of Baron Asset Fund:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements and financial
highlights of the Baron Asset Fund, comprised of the Baron Asset Fund and the
Baron Growth & Income Fund, for the year ended September 30, 1996, we
considered its internal control structure, including procedures for
safeguarding securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and financial
highlights and to comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide
assurance on the internal control structure.
The management of Baron Asset Fund is responsible for establishing and
maintaining an internal control structure. In fulfilling this responsibility,
estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the expected
benefits and related costs of internal control structure policies and
procedures. Two of the objectives of an internal control structure are to
provide management with reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets
are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition and that
transactions are executed in accordance with management's authorization and
recorded properly to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity
with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control structure, errors or
irregularities may occur and not be detected. Also, projection of any
evaluation of the structure to future periods is subject to the risk that it
may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the
effectiveness of the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would not necessarily
disclose all matters in the internal control structure that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the design or
operation of the specific internal control structure elements does not reduce
to a relatively low level the risk that errors or irregularities in amounts
that would be material in relation to the financial statements and financial
highlights being audited may occur and not be detected within a timely period
by employees in the normal course of performing their assigned functions.
However, we noted no matters involving the internal control structure,
including procedures for safeguarding securities, that we consider to be
material weaknesses as defined above as of September 30, 1996.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management of
Baron Asset Fund and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/s/ COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
----------------------------
Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
New York, New York
November 27, 1996
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