Investment Philosophy

How We Approach Investing Matters In The Long Run

Informed Active Management

In our view, active, tactical investment management is superior to passive investment management over the long run.  Investing is seasonal.  Not every type of investment performs well in every type of market environment.  One needs only to look at the multiple bull and bear market moves in stocks and bonds over the past few years to see that.

For this reason, we believe investors are advantaged when they are in control of what they’re invested in, how they’re invested in it, and when they own it.

Advantaged Investors

What, How, and When

What: All Asset Classes

We at SAM find ourselves in opposition to advisors who allocate heavily to passively managed, broad-market index funds and ETFs.  Rather, we believe you shouldn’t be invested in all asset classes, all of the time.

How: Finding Balance

When building portfolios for our clients, we look to strike the right balance between diversification and concentration.

We want our portfolios to have an appropriately broad mix of industries, asset classes, and risk/reward factors. But at the same time, we do not want to be so widely invested that our best ideas can’t have a meaningful positive contribution to performance.

watch on a person's wrist
white clock
When: Using Selective Timing

We see far too many investors and advisors who feel they must be 100% fully invested all the time.

At times of heightened uncertainty and market risk, we think it’s not only prudent, but also profitable to reduce your investment exposure levels. This will better protect our assets when markets do inevitably sell off. And it will enable us to be opportunistic and selectively buy world class assets when others are panic selling.

Our Approach

Owning Well-Run, World Class Businesses

Durability

Durable franchises with long runways for growth

We focus on owning enduring companies in growing industries that we feel confident will be bigger, more profitable enterprises a decade from now than they are today.

Profit Margins

Healthy profit margins

To be sure, even the most stable businesses can have periods in which profits are harder to come by.  But when measured over a full economic cycle, companies with above-average profit margins tend to have superior business models and harder-to-replicate competitive advantages. 

ROI

High returns on investment

All else equal, we favor investing in companies that can generate excellent returns on their capital simply by investing in and growing their core businesses. Time and again, we’ve found that as owners of such businesses, we too, can generate excellent returns on investment.

Management Teams

Run by talented, trusted management teams with skin in the game

In our studies, all three of these management traits correlate to better outcomes for shareholders. We look to invest in leaders who do the smart things, do the right things, and do both because their incentives are closely aligned with ours.

Valuation

When they trade at a reasonable valuation

Valuation matters.  Just ask anyone who bought high-flying tech stocks during the internet bubble of 2000 or the more recent Fed-induced tech bubble of 2021.  We want to own world-class businesses, but only when they trade at a fair price relative to intrinsic value.

Our Clients

The Way We Invest Starts And Ends With You

We want to understand your investment objectives and unique financial situation and then create a tailored, holistic investment plan that makes the most sense for you.

This includes understanding not only your investment goals – for instance, are you primarily looking to grow your capital, protect it, or generate consistent income? – but also getting to know other factors that will impact how we invest including your tolerance for risk and your investment time horizon.

an elderly man and a woman on a walk in the city in a vintage car with a bouquet of flowers
Our Belief

Informed Investors Make Better Investment Decisions

SAM + Your Personal Financial Outlook

It’s important to know how the capital you have invested with SAM fits into your broader personal financial outlook.

What other assets and liabilities make up your family’s balance sheet? And what are the main revenues and expenses that drive your current and future income statement? This can be extremely helpful in constructing the investment program that best helps you reach your investment objectives.

a family of 6 are outside, fall leaves on the ground. 4 of them are running towards us.
Our Team

Expertise You Can Count On

SAM's investment team is dedicated to transparency and professionalism. We understand the importance of trust and we work hard to earn and maintain it with our clients.

Meet the Team