Our Approach

A Different Investment Philosophy

Companies capable of growing earnings regardless of economic circumstances are more likely to reward patient shareholders and to perform well over a complete market cycle. We expect that companies in our portfolios should demonstrate:

• consistent growth in earnings, revenues and cash flow through any economic environment
• consistent dividend growth as a result of earnings, revenue, and cash flow growth, if dividends are paid
• uniqueness, dominance, or competitive advantage
• consistency in and depth of management

A Different Investment Process

Our investment process is based on math. It removes human emotion, interpretation and bias by following this 4-step process:

• quantitative analysis: proprietary ratio computation across our 3,000+ stock universe
• semi-quantitative review: detailed fundamental review of quantitative findings
• human intervention: results reviewed by the investment team
• technical analysis: price action determines key entry and exit points

A Different Sell Discipline

Prescribed by methodology, our sell discipline can be applied in any market, no matter how volatile. Our discipline withstands the test of time because we strictly adhere to these criteria:

• fundamental sale: a stock violating Tandem’s fundamental criteria must be liquidated
• valuation sale: a stock meeting our fundamental criteria but considered overvalued will have a portion of the holding sold
• significant price movement: a stock experiencing significant relative price appreciation will have a portion of the holding sold, and a stock experiencing significant relative price decline will be reviewed

A Different Investment Experience

As portfolio managers, we are not concerned with conforming to an industry norm. To us, Willing to be Different means:

• we take seriously the notion of buying low and selling high, with the discipline to wait
• we aim for low volatility and low downside capture
• we hold cash when few buy opportunities present themselves
• we buy stocks when they ought to be bought — not because we sold something

There is no guarantee or promise in any of the statements listed above. It is our objective to simply strive for these types of investment objectives.