Investment Philosophy

The foundation of Financial Trust Asset Management’s (FTAM) investment philosophy is the belief that compelling investment results are only repeatable over the long term when a highly disciplined investment process is employed on a consistent basis. The ideal process is one in which a disciplined methodology minimizes the impact that emotions can often have on the investment decision making process. Central to our active and passive equity investment strategies is a recognition that certain fundamental company characteristics (i.e. valuation) have been rewarded by the market over the long-term, and this is expected to be the experience in the future. 

We believe that transparency of process and approach are paramount in building successful long-term relationships with our clients.

Specific to FTAM’s active equity strategies, the core investment philosophy centers on combining the basic concepts of stock valuation and momentum in pursuing the most attractive investment opportunities. We believe the best returns are generated by companies whose stocks are not only undervalued, but ones that have begun to have that value recognized as reflected in improving stock price momentum. The firm’s ValueMomentum Leaders™ approach was developed by founder, Arno Mayer, following extensive examination of academic research published on the subject in the 1970s and 80s.  In addition to FTAM employing ValueMomentum Leaders™ analysis across all active equity strategies, additional criteria (i.e. Elliott Wave analysis) are applied and customized in creating FTAM's unique investment strategies. 

Risk Management - An important distinguishing characteristic of Financial Trust is the consistency of our stock selection approach. In the quantitative portion of the stock selection process, we do not change fundamental factors or their weightings. We believe this enhances the clarity as to how an investment strategy can be expected to perform, and serves as an effective risk control measure.