Investment Philosophy: Contrarian Investing

Human nature leads most investors to follow the herd.  Securities and sectors favored by the herd tend to be overvalued, while out-of-favor securities and sectors tend to be undervalued.

We believe the best long-term investment results come from avoiding the herd and focusing on securities and sectors that are unloved and undervalued.

For individual stocks, we seek high quality companies (steady earnings and strong balance sheets) with strong market positions (competitive advantages and leading market share).  We also try to find companies that generate a lot of free cash flow and use it wisely and buy them when they are out of favor (i.e. undervalued).

Similarly, we tend to employ fund managers with a contrarian bias.  Although our broad philosophy may be contrarian, we look for a diversity of approaches.  Not all managers are contrarians; some are talented investors whose investment style may itself be out of favor.

Our investment philosophy helps guide clients through changing markets.

Stocks at the Core

We believe that putting stocks at the core of an investment portfolio provides the ideal foundation for achieving long term financial goals and objectives.

Diversification

We believe that diversification is an essential element of risk management.  Diversifying portfolios applies within and across asset classes.

Disciplined Process

We believe in a disciplined investment process that minimizes emotion.  We believe that adhering rigorously to this processs can improve long-term results.

Contrarian Investing

We believe that capital markets are frequently dominated by short-term thinking and a herd instinct.  These tendencies create opportunities for investors who take the long view.