It is our firm's investment philosophy to invest with a long-term outlook. When a stock is purchased, it is expected to be held longer than one year. Based on this outlook we are not quick to sell a security unless conditions have deteriorated so rapidly that quick action is required. A byproduct of this investment process is low turnover in our accounts.

After studying research on trading practices, we have concluded that high trading activity does not contribute to outperformance, and many times it is associated with underperformance. Thus, we strive to invest in companies that have bright short-term as well as long-term potential. Growth stocks at a reasonable price fit these criteria rather well. For both liquidity and risk management purposes we primarily focus on large-cap stocks, though we consider mid-cap, small-cap, and international funds in all of our Worldwide Templates.

Our basic investment style is bottom-up fundamental analysis. We utilize fundamental analysis screens to focus on a manageable group of stocks. We then carefully analyze this group using quantitative and qualitative factors, producing a final set of candidate firms for inclusion in our portfolios. The most appropriate benchmark for our portfolios is the Russell 1000 Growth Index. This index best matches the market cap and growth characteristics of our portfolios over time.

In addition to our consistent performance, our firm prides itself on integrity and honesty, and we work hard to protect our clients' best interests by faithfully managing their investment accounts with these principles. We believe these values offer a clear, competitive advantage which benefits all of our employees, our business partners, and most importantly—our clients.