Asset Allocation

The first discipline in our management style is to develop an asset allocation that reflects the investment plan of the client and reflects our interpretation of the overall markets. After developing the asset allocation, we then address the task of selecting the securities for each portfolio.

Equities

The second discipline in our management style is the diversification of the equity portion of the portfolio. For the large capitalization portion of the portfolio, we accomplish this by diversifying among individual companies and across major industry sectors.

Our individual equity research is both fundamental and technically oriented. The fundamental analysis is based on the assessment of a stock's investment return potential by evaluating its dividend and earnings outlook, while the technical analysis is to assess a securities price and volume patterns. The primary emphasis is on the identification of investment ideas that will contribute to superior investment results for our clients. Therefore, total return potential is the central criterion against which the company research results are measured. For mid and small capitalization securities, as well as international portions of the portfolio, we will use outside managers with expertise and experience in a given area. Here our evaluation criteria not only look at performance, but the tenure of the managers and how well they adhere to their investment style and strategy.

In addition, we establish price targets for every investment up front. Equities are evaluated when those targets are reached; the fundamentals change or more attractive opportunities are identified.

Fixed Income

The third discipline in our management style is the selection of the debt securities portion of the portfolio. Although we are not an aggressive bond manger; we do employ a management style that attempts to take advantage of the volatility of interest rates and bond prices. We gather information from a variety of sources - the issuer, capital markets analysts, and database and analytical systems - to find securities with the highest possible risk-adjusted return.

In summation, we employ an investment style that places a high premium on the following: identifying market and interest rate trends, investing in highly liquid quality securities, and most of importantly adhering to a disciplined strategy.