GSCM Difference

Investment Freedom

GSCM generally has no boundaries that restrict our investments. We believe if an investment manager is truly value-added then he/she should have the freedom to invest in the best possible asset. Unlike most mutual funds, we are not limited to any particular style, country, or market capitalization. It is our belief that confining a talented investment manager may limit potential returns.

Independent Thought

Rather than classifying ourselves as “Contrarian Investors” we prefer “Independent.” For many years, we have often benefited from doing the opposite of the common investor. We prefer to come to our own conclusions, regardless of what others think. Thus, our style is not always contrarian, but rather independent because our own thoughts are free to agree or disagree with the market consensus.

Long Term Investment Horizon

We aim to hold stocks an average of 5-10 years to attempt to reap long-term benefits. By nature, we are patient investors and are generally not affected by emotions. We attempt to give our management teams time to grow their companies. In the short-term, we believe the market is very efficient at processing information. However, it is much more difficult for people to make accurate long-term predictions about the future of a company. Therefore, we believe the market is less accurate at long-term forecasting and that superior returns can potentially be achieved by sticking with successful companies. On a similar note, we believe we are able to potentially capitalize on long-term themes that the market may take many years to fully recognize.

Low Turnover

Concurrent with our long-term holding period, we have very low turnover. Over the last 5 years, annual turnover has averaged less than 15%. We do not have the manpower to find which companies are going to surprise investors in the next quarter, but we have been successful at finding companies that have surprised investors over 5-10 years. The average U.S. stock mutual fund has an annual turnover of 89%, according to Morningstar, Inc.

 

Conviction

Greenfield and Seitz personally comprise the largest investment in the assets managed by GSCM. We are wholeheartedly behind our stocks, our interests are aligned with our clients, and we are truly concerned about capital preservation. Low fees allow more of our investors’ money to remain invested and potentially grow. In 2004, Warren Buffet said one of the primary causes for shortfall in investor’s returns was “usually because investors traded excessively or spent too much on investment management.”

Tax Efficient

Our low turnover, long-term style can allow us to delay taxes on unrealized gains for many years. By putting off taxes, our portfolios don’t generate capital gains taxes as often, and we have a larger capital base from which to potentially grow.

Ethically Sound

We have never participated in an IPO (initial public offering), secondary offering, PIPE (private investment public equity). Additionally, our performance is purely from market traded equity selections and has never been augmented by IPO’s.

Capital Preservation Goal

One of our primary goals is to seek reduced volatility for our investors. We usually only invest in companies with a history of positive earnings and dependable management.

International Exposure

Exposure to international stocks helps diversify our portfolios. When domestic markets are falling, foreign companies may have less correlation and may mitigate the overall losses in the portfolio.