“Value” drives everything we do at MAP. Value investing involves a bottom-up strategy with careful identification of specific undervalued investment opportunities. As a value investor, MAP seeks to identify fundamentally strong companies whose stocks are priced lower than their true or intrinsic value. It is our belief that the market is inefficient in the short term – occasionally pricing a company’s stock at a discount. MAP can exploit these periodic, bargain-price situations that have not been recognized by the majority of other investors. Over time, the price of such stocks should rise to reflect the true value of the undervalued company.
Value investing is also a risk-averse approach – as much attention is paid to what can go wrong (risk), as to what can go right (profits). To mitigate risk, MAP diversifies investments, hedges where appropriate (including writing covered call options), invests in stocks that are sufficiently underpriced which provides a margin of safety, and consistently employs an unemotional sell discipline. Moreover, only readily marketable, publicly-traded securities are eligible for purchase in clients’ investment portfolios, where information is consistently available and reliable, and prices are determined by an active market. MAP intentionally restricts its focus on these eligible investments to avoid the additional risks assumed with investment classes such as limited partnerships, private placements, and other alternative investments.