Equity Income Portfolio

The Equity Income Portfolio is designed to produce as much income as possible in a diversified equity portfolio, produce an increasing stream of income through dividend increases, and create a portfolio that produces competitive total returns. The high current yield of this portfolio allows foundations, endowments, and retirement plans to meet realistic actuarial assumptions without relying on capital appreciation in the stock market.

This portfolio has limited exposure to high p/e stocks and the most volatile industries, but is still well diversified with no more than 20% invested in any industry group. When possible, we will select companies with a history of steady dividend increases as one of the goals is to maintain the portfolio yield as stock prices rise. Because we look for companies capable of increasing their dividends, we don’t invest in preferred stocks or convertible bonds.

The high current dividend yield is designed to cushion market declines while also helping to boost returns in rising markets. In multiple consultant databases, this portfolio has produced top quartile returns in years when the equity market was down and years when it was up. This portfolio contains around 25 stocks with a wide range of market capitalizations but the overall market capitalization is mid-cap. It is designed for investors that need income.

Note: Composite quarterly performance for the Equity Income Portfolio is available upon request.