Investment Strategies - Balanced

Balanced portfolios are composed of stocks and bonds, combining our high quality growth approach to equities with the higher and more stable income of bonds. The appropriate asset mix is determined through consultation with the client concerning the client's risk tolerance, income needs, and growth objective. We further refine the asset allocation between stocks and bonds around the target mix based on our conclusions about market valuation levels, the economy and investor sentiment and liquidity. Asset allocation reflects our judgment of the relative attractiveness of common stocks to other assets. It is based on a broad overview of economic, political and financial market trends. The equity management of balanced accounts follows our investment discipline for equity-only accounts, focusing on growth companies with strong fundamentals at compelling valuation levels. The fixed income portion of balanced accounts is fully invested at all times with risk managed by changing the maturities and sector emphasis of the portfolio over time.

Please see the disclosure tabs in the Performance and Characteristics sections for important information that is pertinent to this data.