We believe that over time the appreciation of a stock is directly related to the underlying growth of a company's business, and as such we focus on those companies we believe are most capable of sustaining an above average rate of sales and earnings growth. Generally, the companies are industry leaders with competitive advantages. They are also companies with above average profitability and superior financial postions, factors which we believe are important in sustaining longer term growth and reducing fundamental risk.

Additionally, we believe investment performance can be enhanced by being disciplined on security valuations which is an important element in our investment process. Our valuation discipline helps in not only presenting opportunities, but also in mitigating the valuation risks that are often associated with companies with above average growth expectations.