Mid-Cap Growth Equity

Philosophy

Rigorous fundamental research and disciplined portfolio construction are the keys to repeatable alpha Integration of fundamental research and quantitative screening transforms data into an information advantage. Specialty portfolio teams supported by experienced and specialized centralized research analysts research capture broad opportunity set Growth stocks that offer the best return opportunities exhibit:

• Positive business momentum
• Valuations that indicate further appreciation is probable
• Market recognition that fundamental improvements are sustainable

Objective

The objective is to outperform the Russell Midcap Growth Index by 2-3% annualized before management fees over full market cycles with annualized tracking error of approximately 4-6%.

Process

Our disciplined, bottom-up strategy focuses on security selection, using rigorous fundamental research and analysis of the characteristics of individual companies. The process begins with a quantitative evaluation of approximately 875 mid-cap growth companies, comparing each to the universe as a whole and to the peers in the company’s sector. Once the universe is ranked, the experienced portfolio management team concentrates its efforts on the top quintile of securities to validate the quantitative results and to add insight through stock-by-stock fundamental analysis. Buy and sell decisions are ultimately the result of the team’s qualitative judgment. In both phases, business momentum, market recognition, and valuation drive the process.