At Suncoast Equity Management, we are often asked about our strategy for investment management. If you are considering investing with us, we will be glad to meet with you in our Tampa headquarters to help you understand the reasoning behind our strategy. Each Florida investment advisor at Suncoast Equity Management is readily available for a face-to-face meeting with clients and potential clients. You will find that our open, personalized service is one of the most appealing benefits of working with Suncoast Equity Management.

The essence of our approach toward investment management is to select individual companies which score highly in Suncoast Equity Management’s Disciplined Investment System, abbreviated as SEM-DIS. The five-step process of SEM-DIS is as follows:

Financial Performance and Strength—We identify companies which earn above-average return on capital, generate excess free cash flow, and employ moderate to low debt.

Business Track Record—We focus on companies that have a long-term operating history. As the saying goes, past behavior is a good indicator of future behavior. To properly research the past performance of a business, you must have time, perseverance, and knowledge about what to look for in a growing, successful operation. Suncoast Equity Management takes care of this intensive research for you.

Business Outlook and Opportunities—We select companies with favorable long-term business prospects. We want to own companies that have a sustainable franchise or business advantage. We seek growth businesses.

Management Owners—We believe in partnering with management that thinks and behaves like an owner. We require that management be honest and candid with shareholders.

Valuation—A company’s stock market valuation in the long run has everything to do with the free cash flow the business earns today and in the future. Our Tampa financial advisors expertly assess the valuation of each business and invest with a margin of safety. More specifically, we measure the intrinsic value of a business and its internal rate of return compared to other stocks and fixed income. Investors who do not take the time to appraise the value of each company in their portfolio are speculators.

As you can see, the cornerstone of Suncoast Equity Management’s Disciplined Investment System (SEM-DIS) is to produce higher returns with less risk. Please call, e-mail, or visit Suncoast Equity Management at our Tampa, Florida headquarters to learn more about our investment management strategy, SEM-DIS, and how it has served our clients well regardless of overall market conditions.