Our Philosophy
Merit has an investment philosophy based on 6 key principles which help guide our actions based on our beliefs. We believe principles are values that represent what is desirable and positive for an organization and helping determine our actions.
- Humility: The absence of humility is arrogance, and we believe arrogance can lead to overconfidence.
- Flexibility: We have the freedom to pick investments based solely on merit. We have the flexibility to find opportunities elsewhere and are not confined to some predetermined allocation in stocks or bonds. We can choose from any company or product available without restrictions.
- Professional and Personalized: How we remain in our decision making on behalf of our clients.
- Risk Margin: By investing in only high conviction themes, we focus our assets in areas that help us choose investment themes which limit how much a mistake might cost should we be wrong. You can’t discuss risk margin without analyzing the investment horizon.
- Goals in Mind: Investment choices should be made based on the intended goals of a portfolio and not based on the over/under performance of a market benchmark. Eliminate as many headwinds as possible.
- Patience: An essential tool in the investment management business. It is the largest determining factor to whether one has success or failure in the markets.
Merit has developed a tool to use in conjunction with these principles that helps to explain how we view the investment landscape, called the economic dashboard. Our economic dashboard summarizes our opinion on whether the conditions are present to facilitate positive momentum in areas like corporate earnings growth and credit availability.