In our inaugural newsletter, I thought I would open up with a few thoughts about The Murray Wealth Group (“MWG”) and the process we use to pick stocks. I am quite excited about the team we have assembled. It is an experienced and motivated team of highly intelligent but humble people, who are working to make your investment experience both profitable and enjoyable.

Joining me in research and portfolio management is the very hardworking David Newman, our Head of Research. David is a veteran Bay Street analyst whose 20 year research career included top rankings in many annual investor surveys. Working with David will be fun and challenging as we both share a passion for the stock markets and corporate stories. We will be continuously reviewing stock fundamentals and interviewing corporate executives looking for opportunities to upgrade our portfolios.

Bill Tebbutt, our CFO, whom I have known for over 25 years as a polished investment banker, will look after the business affairs and corporate development activities of MWG. The skills Bill acquired as a trusted advisor to corporate boards and senior executives are very complimentary to leading the private client initiatives we are undertaking in the corporate sector.

At MWG we follow the tried-and-true practice of stock picking through in-depth, bottom-up fundamental research, based on the breadth and depth of our group’s experience. David and I have spent our careers striving to make timely, astute stock calls well ahead of our competitors: our ability and willingness to look at companies with a different and unique perspective sets us apart in this regard. We are, first and foremost, a research-driven firm.

Our process begins by screening the universe of global equities, looking for those companies that exhibit strong product leadership positions, best-in-class management teams, above average growth prospects, strong returns, and reasonable financial leverage. We then review all of the relevant publicly available documents, industry and trade materials, external and internal research and recent news to further narrow our list of potential candidates for inclusion in our portfolios. We take advantage of every opportunity to meet with the management teams of companies in which we may invest, as well as their competitors, customers and suppliers, in order to develop and maintain a deep understanding of the industry and company. We typically develop a three-to-five year view of the company, projecting out its earnings and cash flows over this time horizon, which forms the basis of our valuation work. Once we have developed estimated target price and return, the stock potentially becomes eligible for inclusion in our portfolios.

We construct our portfolios using our stock-by-stock target prices, giving consideration to the risks we consider relevant to the stock and its industry. Our portfolios are constructed to diversify by geography, industry, market capitalization and economic sensitivity. We are focused on delivering strong absolute returns.

We believe in partnering with our clients to understand and appreciate your long-term goals and commit to achieving your success, considering both your tolerance for risk and time horizon. Once we have established an agreed-upon investment policy, we allocate your capital appropriately across our various investment strategies. Our own capital is invested alongside that of our clients.

While an oft-used line, we are deeply committed to serving our client’s best interests with the utmost of integrity. At MWG, we believe ongoing communication with our clients is paramount to our collective success. This involves meetings, calls, investment education and other ongoing touch points. For this, we charge straightforward and competitive fees.