Ballard Mudge Financial Group
Clients only have so much money to invest. We want to ensure that clients who entrust their money to us are getting investments in great businesses in return. We look for companies that have a sustainable competitive advantage that enjoy some sort of barrier which makes competing with them difficult. These companies can charge a higher price for their products and enjoy heightened profitability.
Sadly though, owning great businesses is not enough. We must balance the desire to own great businesses with a keen eye on how much we are willing to pay for them. We are willing to pay more for great businesses but we must be careful not to overpay. At times, we will also buy other assets that we believe are trading far below their intrinsic value.
We prefer predictable earnings. Yes, this helps us sleep at night but also we want to hold investments for the long term. Long-term holdings help us reduce the tax exposure for clients and compound capital that otherwise would have been used to pay taxes.
Our goal was always to run a portfolio that outperforms its benchmark. However, the above investment philosophies have led to a reduced exposure to commodity companies and a portfolio that would rate well with most Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria.
