Investment Strategies

Following is an overview of some of our most widely used investment strategies. These can be deployed independently or combined into one portfolio. This is not a complete description of everything we offer but is intended to illustrate the variety of investment solutions available.

Dividend Achievers

This strategy invests in companies that have a minimum 10-year history of consecutive dividend increases and have a positive outlook for future dividend growth. We believe that companies with a long history of increasing their dividends have proven themselves able to successfully manage through changes in the economy and within their individual industries. Companies that have gained Dividend Achiever status tend to be large-cap, multi-national firms, and are generally leaders in their industries with strong, consistent management teams. We expect the overall dividend yield for the portfolio to be above the average market yield. The goal of the portfolio is to emphasize consistent income with a growth component while minimizing risk.

Focus List

The Focus List portfolio seeks long-term outperformance versus the S&P 500 through investment in stocks of quality companies trading at a discount to our estimate of fair value. We seek companies with discounted valuations relative to peers and/or the broad market, or those that trade at a reasonable price given our view of a strong competitive position or growth potential. The emphasis is on large-cap companies, although mid-cap companies are considered, and we maintain diversity by business sector, while being flexible to overweight or underweight where we see opportunity.

Focus Five

This is a rules based sector rotation strategy utilizing exchange traded funds for allocations to different sectors of the economy. Targeting specific sectors for investment has offered opportunities to outperform broad equity indices, even when those indices are negative. Further, the difference between the best and worst performing sectors in any given year can be quite significant. The challenge is finding the best and eliminating the worst. The methodology behind the Focus Five strategy seeks to identify and invest in sectors that are currently showing strength while avoiding those that are out of favor.

Small Cap Growth

This concentrated group of emerging companies is only appropriate for investors seeking long term growth who can also manage portfolio volatility that may be higher than the broad market. Using a variety of research we seek to identify innovative companies and disruptive technologies before they become well known and widely adopted. We want companies that have not yet made headlines but also those that have established earnings and cash flow.

Managed Fund Portfolios

The Managed Funds Portfolios (MFP) Program is a comprehensive asset management program designed to align prudent long-term strategies with personal investment goals. The MFP Program offers individual investors access to comprehensive portfolio management led by a team of dedicated research professionals. To address a broad range of investor profiles the MFP Program offers a number of asset allocation models based upon an investor’s goals and risk tolerance. These investment allocations are diversified by multiple asset classes and investment styles.

Fixed Income

We offer an actively managed bond portfolio that can be incorporated into any of the stock strategies listed above. Our goal with this portfolio is to provide an element of capital preservation, reduce portfolio volatility and provide a source of income. The weight it occupies in any portfolio is determined by the investor’s goals and risk tolerance which is established through the discovery and development phases of our process.