Philosophy

CAMCO's investment philosophy is expressed in our service mark, “Wall Street Experience, Main Street Values.”

In other words, our experience as a money manager is matched with our core beliefs in responsible stewardship of our clients’ investments.

That is why we believe it is not only possible, but also desirable to exclude investments in companies in the Alcohol, Gambling, Tobacco, Abortion, and Pornography industries.

Our clients understand and appreciate our attention to both an investment and moral stewardship of their assets.

We look for bargains.
We look for companies selling below our estimates of their intrinsic value, while realizing that not everything that's cheap is a bargain. We focus on solid bottom-up stock selection, looking for companies which exhibit fundamental characteristics which indicated superior value at current prices.

We look for serious insider buying.
We look for company insiders aligning themselves with shareholders. Meaningful insider buying often indicates that an out-of-favor stock may be ready to recover. We use insider buying to fine-tune our own buying.

We take a concentrated, yet diversified approach.
We typically hold between 35 and 40 stocks in our client accounts. Diversification is important, but over-diversification dilutes the benefit of research and forces you to expand beyond your best ideas.

We are patient.
Investing is a long-term endeavor, measured in years, not minutes. Frenetic trading and high portfolio turnover does not mix with a value-oriented outlook. When the market becomes pessimistic about a company, its stock price often falls below its fair value. We are patient, allowing time for market optimism to return and then reaping the share price growth.

We sell when it makes sense.
When a company no longer represents good value at its current price, we sell and replace it with one that is, in our view, a better bargain.

We think dividends are important.
We like companies that have a history of raising their dividends. Since American companies can't pay a dividend unless all of their bills are paid, a rising dividend stream often indicates a financially healthy company. Companies can fudge the books, but dividends don't lie.

We are not market timers.
When we find attractive investments, we buy them. No matter what the overall markets are doing, there are usually pockets of value out there.

We don’t follow the crowd.
If a company is popular on Wall Street, its stock is not likely to be a bargain. Buying what's just risen the most in price is like driving by looking in the rear-view mirror - and just as dangerous.

We don’t try to match an index.
Our clients come to us with the expectation that active money management combined with good stewardship will add value.

We don’t employ risky trading strategies.
We don’t buy on margin, buy penny stocks, buy commodities, use options or short stocks. We only purchase stocks that trade on the major US Exchanges. We want to be able to sleep at night, and so do our clients.