Our Philosophy
Accessibility & Accountability
We sincerely care about our clients’ prosperity and peace of mind. Clients and prospective clients are invited to call and/or set an appointment to talk to the person who makes investment decisions for their portfolio(s) anytime they have a question or concern. Calls to our company are never answered by an automated system which transfers to the “next available representative.”
Moreover, we do not avoid clients when the market gets ugly, as more than in good times, it is the difficult markets when a) calm insightful judgement most inspires confidence, and b) some of the best investment decisions are made.
Our statements are designed to be straightforward and easy to read. They show you what you own, and the price you paid to buy each investment in comparison to the current market price. We also publish a newsletter for clients every six weeks. Typically this letter will briefly comment on current market conditions and report our most recent visits and/or conversations with the managements of current and prospective portfolio companies.
We are hands-on investors. We personally visit and/or directly communicate with the companies we own. We do not rely on third party financial analysts to fulfill this responsibility for us. Visits with managements are irreplaceable in the understanding they allow investors to build of a company’s business. We like to form our own opinion of the trustworthiness and native intelligence of management personnel. Also, over the years we have found that a manager who made us money at one firm will probably do it again at his next firm. Personal visits with competitors can be helpful, as well. Most companies know who their toughest competitor is, and sometimes that competitor may be the more interesting investment to own!
Brokerage firm research can help us to stay current with day to day developments in the companies we own, and conferences sponsored by brokerage firms can give us both a broad perspective of a particular industry, knowledge of the competition, and new investment ideas.