Process Overview
Our investment process is based on upholding the highest standards of quality, rigor and care. We harness the future by applying traditional values such as hard work and discipline, subjecting stocks to a gauntlet of due diligence that’s based on using key drivers to uncover those that we believe will out-perform. The result is a focused range of products that enables you to potentially profit from our rapidly transforming world.
In-Depth Analysis
When it comes to assessing, sorting, and selecting stocks for purchase or sale, we follow 4 fundamental criteria that encapsulate both long-term and short-term drivers of share prices.
- Quality – measured by reference to a company’s past and projected returns on investment (ROI). The higher the average ROI*, the better the company.
- Value – measured by comparing the current market valuation with a valuation derived from a discounted cash flow** from existing and future investments.
- Earnings trends – analyzed over the short term to gauge changes in market attitude about a given company's prospects.
- Price momentum – measures relative market performance over 3, 6 and 12 months. Different from strict technical analysis, price momentum can indicate market sentiment and helps time purchases and sales.
Due Diligence
Our method of due diligence takes research and analysis to a new level. We perform all of the quantitative research steps listed above. In addition, we build profit & loss models, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for each investment candidate when appropriate. This concentrated process allows for a 'nuts and bolts' analysis of revenues, costs, working capital, capital expenditure, and financing. It also allows us to conduct sensitivity analysis. Based on what we learn firsthand, we generate buy and sell ideas internally, with no influence from outside brokers.
Buy Discipline
Our internal team determines when to buy. Generally, stocks are purchased when they exhibit the strongest and most sustainable set of analysis criteria and have survived our rigorous due diligence tests.
Sell Discipline
We also determine when to sell. Typically, stocks that exhibit weak analysis criteria and don’t hold up to our due diligence testing will be sold.
Often, the earnings forecast triggers action. If month-to-month earnings are revised down, or if there’s an earnings disappointment, we review the company to determine whether the change is a one-off, or the result of something more serious. We also review stocks that have moved significantly (+/- 20%) over the most recent 3-month time period.
The Funds invest in foreign securities which will involve political, economic and currency risks, greater volatility, and differences in accounting methods. The Funds are non-diversified meaning their assets may be concentrated in fewer individual holdings than diversified funds. Therefore, the Funds are more exposed to individual stock volatility than diversified funds. The Funds invest in smaller companies, which will involve additional risks such as limited liquidity and greater volatility.
*Return on Investment is a measure of profitability; net profits divided by net worth or total equity.
**Cash Flow is a measure of a company's financial health; cash receipts minus cash payments over a given period of time.

