We believe that our clients' capital is best managed by considering absolute risk through earnings growth rather than risk relative to a benchmark. Specifically, we do not use quantitative risk tools. Instead, we seek to defray risk primarily through our intimate understanding of a company's earnings profile and our disciplined valuation approach.

Our investment team focuses on company-specific risk (any interference in a company's potential that is within its control), business risk (we prefer to be in those select businesses where the environment is benign, and where there is some opportunity to define the marketplace), and portfolio risk (we limit this by utilizing a sell discipline and typically owning a diversified portfolio of 15-20 companies). At W.P. Stewart we reject the conventional view that high risk must be taken to obtain high returns. By focusing on high quality businesses, we believe we reduce risk relative to the broader stock market.