Carl K. Bufka

BR employs an approach to managing client portfolios that they believe is increasingly unique in the investment counsel industry. As to security selection, they believe that modest expectations yield modest results. When searching for candidates for inclusion in equity portfolios, the firm feels that only the exceptional stock deserves attention. 'Lowering the bar' to include the merely above average invariably dilutes portfolio performance and dissipates the firm's research efforts. Normally, BR has a bias toward companies showing strong and sustainable growth for company-specific reasons. They avoid selling stocks merely because they have risen in price. The firm looks at historical characteristics of a stock, such as minimum multiples of sales, earnings, cash flows, dividends or book values. When a company's financial record is insufficient to establish these risk parameters, the firm frequently turns to alternative investment vehicles that allow for substantial appreciation but mitigate the possibility of significant loss, namely, convertible securities. In constructing portfolios, BR believes that diversification typically reflects a desire to avoid important decisions, not a true desire to reduce risk. They only manage separate portfolios and do not commingle clients' assets for the purpose of reducing costs and achieving economies of scale. Because BR does not begin with a market index in mind when building and managing portfolios, the firm's emphasis is on outperforming these indexes over years, not weeks or months.

MCC seeks to preserve and grow the wealth of their clients while maintaining diversification. The firm uses a combination of qualitative fundamental research and quantitative screening methods to identify companies they would choose to invest in for their various equity strategies: GARP, Consistent Growth, Large Value, and Focused Opportunity. They tend to structure intermediate duration fixed income portfolios for clients.

Gofen & Glossberg manages customized portfolios of bonds, stocks and other marketable securities and generally employs long-term strategies, where appropriate they also employ short-term trading, short sales, margin transactions, and options strategies. The firm prefers to buy and own high quality, growing companies with distinctive franchises. They aim to build and manage equity portfolios of 30-40 stocks that outperform the broader market over a market cycle. Gofen & Glossberg typically have a low turnover of stocks in a portfolio, preferring to minimize transaction costs and make changes only when warranted. Their research analysts combine fundamental qualitative analysis with a quantitative overlay. The firm uses bonds to generate income, provide stability of returns, and preserve capital. Their approach to fixed income investing is conservative and aims to achieve a risk-adjusted return consistent with a client’s long-term objectives.

Provides commercial banking services