Equity

Premier Growth Equity Strategy

The strategy pursues long-term outperformance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index by seeking primarily large-cap companies with the ability to own mid-cap companies that exhibit both robust and sustainable growth.

Competitive advantages

Targets consistent returns

The portfolio managers pursue a diversified approach, placing emphasis on consistency of returns within a strong risk management framework and centered on a proven sell discipline.

Stable investment team

This is a seasoned investment team—senior portfolio managers have been working together continuously since 2008. 

The key decision-makers within the portfolio management team have an average of 24 years of investment experience.

Differentiated track record

Most strategies have investment track records of over 20 years, delivering significant alpha since inception. 

Investment approach

The team offers a unique combination of longevity and success.

Intensive, all-cap research focuses on quantifying a company’s true growth rate.

The team follows a bottom-up, multi-step process that draws on a variety of sources.

The team seeks to gauge whether a company’s growth is robust and sustainable.

Their approach focuses on companies with sustainable advantages built around differentiated and innovative products and services.

Underappreciated growth creates opportunities.

Opportunities to invest arise when a gap exists between a company’s future growth rate and the market’s expectations for that growth.

The team offers a unique, proven sell discipline.

Their sell discipline conjoins the investment process with a robust risk management framework, such that share positions are modified whenever the gap between a company’s true earnings power and the market’s expectations narrow, thereby avoiding deteriorating growth before it is captured in the share price.

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Composite performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 9/30/2024)
8/1/1994
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Composite (Gross)
3.26
5.86
30.23
48.27
6.07
15.26
14.05
13.37
Composite (Net)
3.21
5.70
29.65
47.35
5.35
14.47
13.23
12.54
Benchmark
2.83
3.19
24.55
42.19
12.02
19.74
16.52
11.42

Performance is historical and does not guarantee future results. For more information, please refer to the GIPS composite report found in the documents section.


Calendar year

Calendar year

2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Composite (Gross)
34.18
-33.02
14.84
40.72
34.55
2.05
35.33
-2.53
3.35
9.72
Composite (Net)
33.25
-33.50
14.05
39.74
33.57
1.28
34.34
-3.26
2.58
8.91
Benchmark
42.68
-29.14
27.60
38.49
36.39
-1.51
30.21
7.08
5.67
13.05

Performance is historical and does not guarantee future results. For more information, please refer to the GIPS composite report found in the documents section.


Our team
Meet the investment team

The team seeks a style-pure dedication to growth, targeting consistency of returns and focusing on fundamental, bottom-up, all-cap research to identify businesses with sustainable growth.

View Team
Robert

Robert Gruendyke

Portfolio Manager
Michael T.

Michael T. Smith

Head of Growth Equity
Christopher

Christopher Warner

Portfolio Manager

Key risks

Market risk: Security markets are volatile and may decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, regulatory, political, or economic developments with different sectors of the market and different security types reacting differently to such developments.

Equity securities risk: Equity securities fluctuate in value and price in response to factors specific to the issuer of the security, such as management performance, financial condition, and market demand for the issuer's products or services, as well as factors unrelated to the fundamental condition of the issuer, including general market, economic, and political conditions.

Small-cap securities risk: If a strategy invests in the securities of smaller-capitalization companies, these securities tend to be more volatile and less liquid than those of larger companies.

Foreign securities risk: If a strategy invests in the securities of non-U.S. issuers, these investments may be subject to lower liquidity, greater price volatility, and risks related to adverse political, regulatory, market, or economic developments and may be affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Investors should know that this strategy deployed may be subject to additional investment risks. For important information about the investment manager, please refer to Form ADV Part 2.

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