Corporate Bond Strategy

Transcription

1 Corporate Bond Strategy

2 I. Overview "We believe a company s value depends on its long-term ability to generate cash, which in turn, can fund growth, stock repurchases and dividends."

3 Firm Overview Established more than a decade ago by the former CIO of a major money manager in Buffalo, NY. $1.04 Billion in AUM for private clients, foundations, corporations & institutions/ 401K. Consistent and disciplined risk management approach. We are asset quality driven. We do all of our own research. Firm is 100% employee owned, profitable, debt-free & financially stable. Registered investment advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 1

4 II. Philosophy & Process "Our primary goal is to produce a superior risk adjusted return on our clients capital."

5 Investment Philosophy & Process We build diversified fixed income portfolios because you do not get paid to concentrate in the bond market the same way you do in the stock market. We recommend committing no more than 3% of an account's capital to one bond issue. There are two types of risk in the bond market: Credit Risk Interest Rate Risk We mitigate credit risk through diversification and our own research We mitigate interest rate risk by purchasing (mostly) non-callable corporate bonds with 3-9 year maturities. 2

6 III. Sandhill Process "When we identify and purchase a great business at an attractive price, time is our ally."

7 Sandhill Standards Sandhill's Corporate Bond Strategy provides: Diversification of credit risk Each bond is researched for credit quality Ownership of the specific bond issue Mitigation of interest rate risk via short to medium term maturities Our team based investment process is defined and repeatable The bond market is very inefficient which creates opportunities. 3

8 IV. Descriptions & Portfolio Characteristics "Our multi-cap mandate allows us to go anywhere we find an opportunity."

9 Current Bond Portfolio Characteristics as of 12/31/2017 Average Duration: 3.9 Average Yield to Maturity: 3.9% Current Yield*: 5.1% Low turnover; we hold bonds to maturity Short duration; protection against rising interest rates Not model based; each bond portfolio is built to suit need Implement diversified approach with careful analysis and execution *Excluding cash in the composite 4

10 Fixed Income Outlook As interest rates go up, capital will be reinvested at higher rates as bonds mature. Short term rates will rise; it's a matter of when - not if. It's important to own individual issues with set maturities rather than bond mutual funds. We prefer to buy bonds with approximately five to seven year maturities. Many bonds in the portfolio are investment grade. We focus on single B to single A credits. For good credit, we will go below investment grade. We exploit rating inefficiencies. 5

11 V. Performance "Sandhill was built with the intention of producing results that outperform benchmarks and create genuine value for our clients."

12 Performance Update as of 12/31/2017 Net of Fees Year Trailing 3-Year Trailing Annualized 5-Year Trailing Annualized Sandhill Corporate Bond Strategy 4.1% 4.1% 3.5% 3.4% B of A/Merrill Lynch 3-5 year Corporate Bond Index 3.4% 3.4% 2.8% 2.6% Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Individual investor results may vary. Performance results may be materially affected by market and economic conditions. Performance presented net-of-fees is reduced by investment management fees, trading expenses, and administrative fees. Investment strategy has the potential for profit or loss. Interest, dividends and capital gains in Sandhill Composites are not immediately reinvested. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment. Third party information in this report has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate; however, Sandhill Investment Management makes no guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. This is provided as supplemental information to the fully compliant GIPS presentation that accompanies this material. Please see appendix for full performance disclosures. The disclosures provided are considered an integral part of this presentation. 6

13 VI. Investment Team "Our team-based investment process is defined and repeatable."

14 Investment Team Edwin M. Johnston, III Managing Partner, Co-Founder Years of Investment Experience: 25 BA Yale University MBA Boston University Richard W. Ryskalczyk, CFA Chief Equity Analyst, Partner Years of Investment Experience: 7 BS Economics & Finance Canisius College Mark J. Larry, CFA Senior Equity Analyst, Partner Years of Investment Experience: 4 BBA Finance, MBA St. Bonaventure University Aaron VandeGutche Assistant Equity Analyst Years of Investment Experience: 1 BS Finance Grand Valley State University 7

15 Investment Team Edwin M. Johnston, III Managing Partner & Co-Founder Edwin received his BA from Yale University in 1982 and MBA from Boston University in 1991, graduating with highest honors. He joined investment advisor and broker-dealer Harold C. Brown in 1995 as Senior Equity Analyst and was promoted to Director of Research in He was named Vice President in 1998 and Portfolio Manager in Edwin was President of investment advisor and broker-dealer O Keefe Shaw & Co. from 2002 to 2004 where his main role was to start and run the investment advisory business. O Keefe Shaw s advisory business was spun off to become Sandhill Investment Management. Edwin serves/has served as a Trustee or Director for many different schools and organizations in Buffalo. Richard W. Ryskalczyk, CFA - Partner Rick received his BS in Economics and Finance from Canisius College where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and received the Nelson D. Civello Award for Most Outstanding Graduate. Rick joined Sandhill after graduating from Canisius in 2010 and became a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) in He serves as President of the CFA Society of Buffalo. In addition, Rick is a mentor to students in the Golden Griffin Fund, a student-run investment portfolio at Canisius and a program that he graduated from. He is also a mentor for Say Yes Buffalo; a program that supports inner city economic development through giving grants to pay for college education. 8

16 Investment Team Mark J. Larry, CFA - Partner Mark earned his Bachelor s degree in Finance in 2009 and his MBA in 2010 from St. Bonaventure University. While at St. Bonaventure, Mark led the University s student run investment fund, known as Students in Money Management (SIMM). From 2010 to 2013, Mark worked for Citigroup Inc., supporting sales and trading across various product lines within FIRM s Institutional Clients Group. Mark joined Sandhill as an Associate Analyst in 2013 and became a CFA charterholder in Mark was named Partner in Aaron VandeGutche Aaron earned his Bachelor's degree in Finance from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. During college, Aaron served as Equity Analyst for the Seidman College of Business student-run investment portfolio and worked as a Financial Analyst at Eenhoorn LLC, a multi-family real estate company. Aaron has completed Level I of the CFA program and will sit for Level II in Aaron joined Sandhill in

17 VII. Disclosures

18 Statement of Performance: Annual Results - Corporate Bond Composite Rate of Return Year Before deducting management fees After deducting management fees B of A/ML 3-5 yr. Corporate Bond Index (1) Number of portfolios in the Composite Percent of Wrap-Fee Assets Total Composite Assets ($ Millions) Total Firm Assets ($ Millions) * +4.7% +6.8% +0.9% +4.6% +3.1% +8.1% +4.8% +6.9% +6.4% +4.1% +6.1% +0.4% +4.0% +2.5% +7.5% +4.2% +6.2% +6.0% 4.4% +3.4% +3.6% +1.5% +3.1% +1.5% +8.8% +4.0% +7.7% +15.3% % 6.9% 0.2% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A , *1/31/ /31/2009 (1) Sandhill Investment Management has presented this index for comparative purposes. This index was selected because the Corporate Bond Composite contains accounts that hold securities with characteristics similar to those in this index. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Individual investor results will vary. Performance results may be materially affected by market and economic conditions. 10

19 Statement of Performance: Annual Results - Corporate Bond Composite NOTE A: BASIS OF PRESENTATION Sandhill Capital Partners, LLC officially began doing business as Sandhill Investment Management ( Sandhill ) in June There was no change in ownership or management. Sandhill is defined as a registered investment advisor that is not affiliated with any parent company. The performance statistics disclosed in the accompanying statement are calculated on the rates of return from accounts managed by Sandhill, as defined below. These accounts are managed by Sandhill on a discretionary basis and have no restriction in the manner in which the account can be invested. None of the Company s balanced portfolio segments are included in any single composite. There are no non-fee paying accounts included in the composite. The US dollar is the currency used to express performance. The composite includes accounts under management from the first full month at which the account s capital is fully invested in Sandhill. Closed accounts are included in the composite through the completion of the last full month under management and are not removed from the historical rates of return. Sandhill claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS ), and has prepared this report in compliance with GIPS standards. Sandhill has been independently verified for the periods March 1, 2004 through December 31, Verification assesses whether (1) the firm has complied with all the composite construction requirements of the GIPS standards on a firm-wide basis and (2) the firm s policies and procedures are designed to calculate and present performance in compliance with the GIPS standards. Verification for 2017 is expected to be complete during the first quarter of 2018 Verification does not ensure the accuracy of any specific composite presentation. The effective date of firm compliance with the GIPS standards is March 1, The creation date of the Corporate Bond Composite is May 9, Accounts with at least 89.5% of their assets (excluding cash and money market deposits) invested in Corporate Bonds will be included in the composite. The Corporate Bonds will generally be rated single B to single A and will have maturities of three to nine years. The primary benchmark for the Corporate Bond Composite is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 3-5 year Corporate Bond Index. This is a subset of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch US Corporate Master Index tracking the performance of US dollar denominated investment grade rated corporate debt publically issued in the US domestic market. If there is a material change in the duration of the Corporate Bond Composite we will reassess the benchmark to ensure it remains in line with the characteristics of the composite. A complete list and description of firm composites and policies for valuing portfolios, calculating performance and preparing compliant presentations are available upon request by ing info@sandhill-im.com. 11

20 Statement of Performance: Annual Results - Corporate Bond Composite The performance presentation utilizes the following criteria: a) The rates of return are compiled monthly by calculating the percentage change in the end of the period market values over the beginning of the period market values with all cash flows time-weighted. Cash flows consists principally of contributions, withdrawals and management fees. The monthly results are then geometrically linked to derive the rates of return for the yearly rates of return. Geometric linking is the method used to combine rates of return for multiple periods. b) The rates of return reflect realized and unrealized gains and losses and include dividend and ordinary income (interest). c) The calculations are weighted for the size of each client s account as a relationship to the total composite. d) The calculations are shown both net and gross of investment management fees. e) Additional information regarding policies for calculating and reporting returns is available upon request. For purposes of determining market values, securities transactions are recorded on a trade date basis, interest is accrued to the end of the period, and dividends are recorded when received. 12

21 Statement of Performance: Annual Results - Corporate Bond Composite NOTE B: ANNUAL DISPERSION Composite dispersion represents the consistency of the Company s composite performance results with respect to the individual portfolio returns within the composite. Annual composite dispersion is calculated through the use of an asset weighted standard deviation for portfolios included in a composite for the entire year. Composite dispersion is not require to be presented when there are five or fewer accounts in a composite for the entire year. It is important to note dispersion can be caused by client-specific required trading and constraints. Annual dispersion for the Corporate Bond Composite using the asset weighted standard deviation described above on rates of return before deducting management fees and after deducting management fees is as follows: Dispersion Before deducting management fees 0.56% 0.88% 0.59% 0.98% 0.51% 0.68% 0.15% 0.54% 0.00% After deducting management fees 0.57% 0.91% 0.64% 1.01% 0.49% 0.70% 0.13% 0.28% 0.00% 13

22 Statement of Performance: Annual Results - Corporate Bond Composite NOTE C: EX-POST STANDARD DEVIATION The three year annualized standard deviation measures the variability of the composite and the benchmark returns over the preceding 36-month period. The three year annualized standard deviation is not required for the period prior to The three year annualized ex-post standard deviation of the composite and benchmark as of each year end is as follows: Three Year Ex-Post Standard Deviation Years ended 12/31 Before deducting management fees After deducting management fees B of A/ML 3-5 yr. Corporate Bond Index % 2.15% 2.05% % 2.31% 2.21% % 2.25% 2.36% % 1.98% 2.76% % 2.13% 3.08% % 1.88% 3.76% NOTE D: FEES Performance results shown gross of fees do not reflect the deduction of advisory fees. Such fees and costs will reduce the return of the account. Performance results shown net of investment management fees are based on actual investment advisory fees charged to institutional accounts and the total wrap fee charged by the sponsor for wrap accounts, which includes charges for portfolio management, custody and other administrative fees. Sandhill s standard investment management fee for institutional accounts in the Corporate Bond Composite is 0.65% per annum. 14

23 Sandhill Privacy Notice Sandhill Investment Management is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of your private information. This notice is provided to help you understand how we safeguard your privacy. In order to properly service your account, we must obtain some nonpublic personal information about you. We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law. The types of information we may need to obtain fall into the following categories: Information that we receive from you verbally and/or on applications and other forms; such as names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, and investment objectives. Information about your transactions with us. Access to your personal information is restricted to those employees that need to know in order to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to comply with federal standards to protect your personal information. 15