Mike DiCastri

By focusing on value, looking beyond daily volatility caused by market gyrations, and using a consistent, repeatable process, JAM strives to provide each of their clients with superior value over the long term. To bring the overall universe of potential holdings to a manageable size, the first step of JAM's large- and small-cap value equity process uses quantitative screens to identify inexpensively priced companies that exhibit high levels of quality. They screen a universe of companies and assign each to an industry sector. Each stock is then valued based on a sector specific valuation model focused on p/e, price-to-book and price-to-cash flow as well as other valuation factors. The initial sort identifies the companies that appear to have the most attractive value. These companies are then filtered for quality, looking for factors such as low outstanding debt to capitalization, positive free cash flow and stable earnings estimate revisions. As a last step, they screen for positive trends such as improved cash flow, margins and leverage to rule out companies that do not appear to be healthy. JAM's fixed-income composite strategy hinges upon their overall outlook for interest rates based on various macro economic components that include inflation, rate of growth of GDP, political and international trends, fiscal/monetary policy and the factors that determine the level and changes in these items. This process results in an opinion on the relative risk/return within the fixed-income market. Once the firm establishes what they believe to be the most likely economic scenario, they attempt to determine the effect this course will have on both market sectors and quality gradations (i.e. AA-rated issues vs. A-rated issues). This analytical process leads them to an opinion on the best relative values in the fixed-income markets.