Starting Point is an internal screening tool for our Financial Advisors to assist, through a quantitative filtering process, in identifying our best recommendations from our correspondent research services and our own proprietary research. Through your Financial Advisor, you will receive the benefit of our screening process by focusing on the most attractive ideas in each of the 10 major market sectors and as a result, target recommendations to your risk and market cap orientation.
In conjunction with the previously mentioned asset allocation models, Starting Point takes the process one step further by driving favored stock recommendations through the three market capitalization segments (generally defined as: Large—above $12 billion; Mid—$2.5 to $12 billion, and Small—below $2.5 billion). After this first segmentation, we screen recommendations from our correspondent research services (such as Argus Research) through two additional filters: a quantitative filter and a technical analysis filter. The quantitative screen uses factors such as earnings momentum, profit trend, relative value, and historic growth, to name a few, in an effort to narrow the focus to stocks that are attractive based on just the numbers. The technical screen is highly sensitive to stock price momentum and relative strength, which adds a measure of confirmation that the shares are performing in line with the favorable fundamental and quantitative analysis.
Starting Point provides the Financial Advisor with a list of approximately 90 stocks, three in each of the 10 S&P Industry Sectors for each of the three Market Cap segments. Thus, we have narrowed or "filtered" the individual stock recommendations to a more focused group allowing the Financial Advisor to target your
specific investment goals and risk tolerance. Keep in mind this tool does not reduce your Financial Advisor’s access to the complete correspondent research services, but instead enhances his/her ability to help you manage your investments. Starting Point is formally updated monthly for your Financial Advisor and kept current through an exceptions-based monitoring process.
The concept of Starting Point is that it is just that—the starting point for a more focused and client centric investment decision process. It starts with asset allocation and drives the recommendations forward to better meet your specific needs. We believe that this investment decision process can help you and your Financial Advisor continue to focus on some of the best ideas in the market.