The fund seeks to generate a total pre-tax return, including capital growth and dividends that is greater than the rate of inflation over a three-to-five-year period by investing in companies across any size in the United States.
The investment process utilizes a deep value investing style to look for undervalued companies whose future earnings growth potential is not reflected in their current market prices.
The process focuses on companies that may be out of favor or underappreciated and trading at a discount to their estimated intrinsic value not yet recognized by investors.
In selecting investments, the research team prefers companies that are trading generally at no more than 20% above the security’s 52-week lowest price.
The team further assesses whether each company pays or has declared dividends or other income at the time of purchase.
The research process is driven by fundamental analysis of one stock at a time. Next, the investment team determines which securities can deliver capital appreciation and steady dividend earnings over the long-term.
The fund manager generally selects securities for the portfolio based on individual stocks rather than on industries or industry groups. The manager establishes portfolio positions in a security by gradually purchasing the security at progressively lower prices, which results in a lower average price for the total position.
The team screens a universe of stocks to find companies which meet its investing criteria such as valuation multiples on the basis of earnings, cash flow, book value and projected 12-month earnings, or price generally less than or equal to 20% above the 52-week low, and debt quality of at least investment grade.
However, a dividend yield is required when selecting securities.
The fund may increase investments in cash or money market instruments to protect its assets and maintain liquidity.
