SELECTING EQUITY and FIXED INCOME SECURITIESSelecting EQUITY Securities
SIMI invests in U.S. and foreign equities which it believes offer the potential for attractive total returns. These securities consist primarily of:
- Stocks of individual companies;
- Mutual funds - SIMI utilizes exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which typically have lower turnover and expense ratios than actively managed funds;
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs); and
- Commodity-type investments.
SIMI employs a "go-anywhere" approach to equity selection which will cause portfolios to generally not reflect the composition of any particular domestic or foreign stock index.
Selecting FIXED INCOME Securities
SIMI primarily invests in the following fixed income assets:
- Investment-quality domestic corporate bonds (rated BBB or higher by ranking agencies such as Standard & Poor's or Moody's);
- Municipal bonds (when advantageous for taxable accounts);
- Convertible bonds;
- U.S. Department of Treasury and government agency bonds;
- Bonds of foreign governments and foreign corporate issues; and
- Bond mutual funds having a desired focus.
Bond maturities are typically "laddered" within client accounts to provide for a regular flow of capital. SIMI utilizes a variety of institutional brokerage sources for bond purchases and sales, allowing clients to benefit from a wider variety of choices and the potential for better pricing on trades.
Next Investment Topic: Monitoring Portfolio Asset Mix