The fund seeks primarily capital appreciation and secondarily current income by investing in large-size companies in the United States.
The fund manages assets by hiring sub-advisors and currently works with three. The fund prefers a multi-manager investing approach to reduce volatility and downside risk.
The sub-advisors are Massachusetts Financial Services Company, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC, and Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC.
The sub-advisors’ investment process is designed to highlight companies demonstrating above-average earnings growth potential and dividend yields, and below average valuation multiples on the basis of earnings and book value.
Next, the research team relies on fundamental analysis to assess the earnings growth prospects of companies. The team also considers changing economic trends.
The sub-advisors typically seek to invest in companies that they believe are undervalued at the time of purchase. However, the portfolio is well diversified at the security, industry and stock levels but may have significant exposure to the financial services sector.
The fund’s assets may also include preferred stocks, convertible securities, American Depositary Receipts and foreign stocks traded on U.S. exchanges.