The fund seeks capital appreciation and current income in the long term by investing in companies across any size in the United States.
The investment process is designed to highlight companies having a track record of consistently paying rising dividends, maintained or increased dividend rate during the last four consecutive years.
The investment team looks for companies that have consistently increased dividends in at least 8 out of the last 10 years and have not decreased dividends during that time.
The process focuses on companies that have reinvested earnings, paying out less than 65% of current earnings in dividends and either long-term debt or senior debt that is less than 50% of total capitalization or senior debt that has been rated investment grade by one of the major independent bond rating services.
The research process is driven by fundamental analysis of one stock at a time. The research team then selects companies that are trading at a discount to their intrinsic value at attractive prices.
The team also considers preservation of capital an important factor when evaluating a company.
The fund may have significant positions in particular sectors from time to time based on economic conditions.
The fund has the flexibility to invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers.