At my day job, running Hurley Capital, a value-oriented money manager, our goal is to keep up with the market in good times and protect our capital in bad times. Achieving this goal requires research and discipline. By research, I mean finding investments that have enough underlying value to sustain themselves during down markets, while having the cash-flow growth opportunities to keep pace with the market in up markets. Discipline means investing assets over time to avoid the natural (and unprofitable) tendency to invest only when the market sentiment is high and selling when it's low.
Prospective clients often ask where the market is going in the next year to decide whether or not to invest. Per above, my answer always is, "Since we're investing over time, you shouldn't be overly concerned about the next few months. Furthermore, we're investing defensively. Let's ease in." This approach has worked for our clients (and ourselves - since we are invested alongside them) since we started Hurley Capital in 2003 and we're hopeful to keep up the good work going forward.
How are we 'easing in' now? You can look at all of current composite client holdings on our Q1 Investor Letter.
