1. C A S T L E P O I N T
Investment
Group, LLC
LARGE CAP EQUITY PRODUCT
CastlePoint Investment Group Profile
Investment Philosophy, Process and Results
January 31, 2012
2. “CastlePoint’s enviable investment returns stem from a clearly-defined and consistently applied
investment process that is analytically-rigorous, artfully-implemented, and based on a combination of
proprietary research and sound financial theory.”
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
3. CASTLEPOINT LARGE CAP EQUITY PERFORMANCE
Investment Returns Snapshot through January 31, 2012 Cumulative Investment Returns through January 31, 2012
Inception (Unlike indices, surpassed
YTD* 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year (Sept. 2001) prior peak in 4Q07) $201.1
Cumulative returns reflect
200
reinvestment of dividends and
CastlePoint Large Cap Equity 23.2% are presented gross of fees
S&P 500 Index Total Return 175
19.2%
Russell 1000 Value Total 17.6%
Return Index 150 $151.7
$141.8
125
8.5% 100
6.9%
4.5% 4.2% 4.2% 4.1% 75
3.8% 3.3% 3.4%
1.9%
0.3% 50
Aug-01
Aug-02
Aug-03
Aug-04
Aug-05
Aug-06
Aug-07
Aug-08
Aug-09
Aug-10
Aug-11
Feb-02
Feb-03
Feb-04
Feb-05
Feb-06
Feb-07
Feb-08
Feb-09
Feb-10
Feb-11
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
-2.2%
*All results through period ending January 31, 2012 CastlePoint Large Cap S&P 500 Index Russell 1000 Value
Frequency CastlePoint Outperforms Index Over Time Periods Annual CastlePoint and Index Returns
Rolling, overlapping 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year
periods based on 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 YTD
month-end returns 3% 0% 40%
over track record
Periods CastlePoint
30% Outperformed Indices
29%
20%
S&P 500 100%
Index 71% 10%
97%
0%
-10%
CastlePoint Investment Returns
18% -20% S&P 500 Index Total Return
Russell 1000 40% 34% Russell 1000 Value TR Index
Value Total -30%
Return 60% 66%
82% -40%
Investment returns for both the composite (the “Composite”) and the indices presented above are gross of fees and include
the reinvestment of interest and dividend income. Returns exclude investment advisory fees but include transaction costs and
calculations foreign withholding taxes. Composite portfolios are valued monthly and use time-weighted, geometrically-linked rates of
based on: 114 observations 90 observations 66 observations return adjusted for daily-weighted cash flows. Results are based on fully-discretionary accounts under management. 3
4. PEER GROUP RANKING, EFFICIENCY & RISK ANALYTICS
Large Cap Value Peer Group Ranking
1 Year 3 Year 5 Year through January 31, 2012
YTD 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
1st 2nd
0% 4th 4th
8.48% 3.26%
23.23% 6.20%
10%
20th 20th
Large Cap Value Mutual Fund Universe
20% 22nd 22nd
25th 25th 19.24% 0.33%
25th 25th 25th
5.21% 3.66% 4.20% 4.21% 18.87% -0.15% 4.87%
30% 37th
Percentile Rankings
41st 41st
40% 1.88%
4.48% 48th 47th 4.36%
50th 52nd
50% 4.27% 1.23% 56th
17.06% -1.46%
3.87%
60% 65th 63rd 66th
42nd
-2.16%
70% 3.78%
17.63%
3.52%
75th 75th 75th 75th 75th
3.37% -1.45% 15.77% -2.68% 3.15%
80%
90%
314 funds 291 funds 276 funds 256 funds 190 funds
100%
CastlePoint Large Cap Equity Russell 1000 Value Index S&P 500 Index Morningstar Large Value Avg Fund
source: Morningstar
Index-Relative Analytics: Efficiency and Risk-Adjusted Returns Risk & Regression Analysis
source: eVestment Alliance
4
Investment returns for both the composite (the “Composite”) and the indices presented above are gross of fees and include the reinvestment of interest and dividend income. Returns exclude investment advisory fees but include transaction costs. Composite portfolios are valued monthly and use time-weighted, geometrically-
linked rates of return adjusted for daily-weighted cash flows. Results are based on fully-discretionary accounts under management. Although great care was taken in the preparation of this document, its completeness and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Monthly statements that substantiate these investment returns are
available for verification or auditing purposes. Past performance is no guarantee of future favorable results. The investment philosophy, process, and discipline used to generate these returns were continuously applied over all time periods. 4
5. LARGE CAP VALUE EQUITY: HISTORY OF TRACK RECORD
John G. Alexander, CFA: Portfolio Management Career Summary History of CastlePoint Composite
The CastlePoint track record comprises two distinct periods:
Sept. 2005 – present
CastlePoint Investment Group, LLC
John G. Alexander, CFA, presently serves as the only
1 portfoliois an example text. Gomanages the
This manager at CastlePoint; he ahead
composite and other equity-only andtext.
and replace it with your own balanced
separate accounts for firm, from inception to present.
CASTLE POINT
Managing Partner, Sept. 2001 – Aug. 2005
Cornerstone Investment Partners, LLC
CORNERSTONE Portfolio Manager
6 years, 6 months
Managing Partner, 2005 to present Additional part- and full-time investment professionals
Portfolio Manager
Portfolio Manager 4 Years, 1 month 2 first joined the firm in 2003; Alexander served as the sole
3 Years, 3 months 2001 to 2005 full-time, dedicated portfolio manager for the composite
from inception through his departure in 2005.
Annual Portfolio Turnover (LTM) Percentage of Periods CastlePoint Outperforms Indices
rolling, overlapping periods
40%
81.3%
35%
60-months 100.0%
30%
93.8%
25% 25.2%
20% 66.3%
15% 36-months 96.6%
88.8%
10%
5%
60.2%
0%
12-months 70.8%
Jan-08
Jan-09
Jan-10
Jan-11
Jul-08
Jul-09
Jul-10
Jul-11
Oct-08
Oct-09
Oct-10
Apr-08
Apr-09
Apr-10
Apr-11
68.1%
Annual portfolio turnover since inception Russell 1000 Value TR S&P 500 TR Index Russell 1000 Growth TR
source: CastlePoint Analysis, Russell Investments, Standard & Poor’s
5
6. “CastlePoint's approach to equity investing is based on the fundamental belief that markets are inefficient
and mispriced securities can be systematically identified and opportunistically acquired
using a time-tested, rigorous, and highly disciplined investment process.”
INVESTMENT APPROACH
7. INVESTMENT APPROACH
Investment Approach
CastlePoint's approach to equity investing is based on the fundamental belief that markets are inefficient and mispriced
securities can be systematically identified and opportunistically acquired using a time-tested, rigorous, and highly disciplined
investment process. CastlePoint's proprietary investment model, independent-minded portfolio management team, and
partnership culture of investing alongside our clients, are each important and differentiating aspects of our proven and
historically successful approach to investing.
As a result of our exhaustive, proprietary research on each stock before reaching a purchase decision, the investment team is
confident current portfolio holdings possess substantial capital appreciation potential and limited downside risk. Evidence of
this is the investment team manages their personal assets alongside those of our clients. This approach succeeds because the
team operates in an environment that takes a long-term view to investments, encourages an intense focus on securities
research and analysis, and insures team members hold a substantial, financial interest in the success of the portfolio. In short,
"we eat what we cook.“
"You cannot beat the benchmark, if you are the benchmark." CastlePoint takes a focused approach to investing, which affords
the investment team the opportunity to better understand portfolio holdings and, equally important, the fortitude and
conviction to stay the course when it's most difficult (and important) to do so. It's realistic and possible to achieve this level of
confidence with a portfolio comprised of a more manageable level of 30 to 35 holdings. Our goal is to construct portfolios in
which security selection is the largest contributor to index-relative outperformance.
It's fair to characterize CastlePoint's approach as largely "style-agnostic," though historically portfolio characteristics tend to
exhibit a value bias. It's also appropriate to view the approach as being predominately "benchmark agnostic" in the sense the
presence or absence a security (or its weight in a benchmark) is irrelevant in the security selection process. This also holds true
when looking at portfolio sector allocations relative to a benchmark.
Finally, CastlePoint's investment approach reflects our belief we are simply not smart enough to pick the trough when buying
or the peak when selling a stock; as such, we employ a "time diversification" approach to buying and selling securities.
Practically speaking, this typically entails moving gradually into or out of portfolio positions at 50 bps to 150 bps per
transaction.
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8. “CastlePoint's investment philosophy is based on thoroughly researched and widely accepted financial
concepts thoughtfully chosen and uniquely woven together. The end result is a well crafted,
time tested process that systematically exploits enduring market anomalies.”
INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY
9. PHILOSOPHY – BEHAVIORAL FINANCE
Investment Philosophy
CastlePoint's investment philosophy is based on thoroughly researched, well established, and widely accepted financial
theories and concepts thoughtfully chosen and uniquely woven together. The result is a uniquely crafted, time tested
investment process that systematically exploits enduring market anomalies - outperforming market indices over the most
tumultuous and challenging market environment in recent history.
Briefly, there are three elements of our investment philosophy:
Market Overreaction to Dramatic Unexpected News Events
Fallacies of Company and Market Forecasting
Patience and Long-term Investment Horizon
Market Overreaction Fallacies of Forecasting Long-term Investment Horizon
Based upon thoroughly documented and widely accepted academic research, equity market participants systematically
“overreact” with knee-jerk responses to unexpected and dramatic news events, pushing stock prices to unsustainably high and
low levels. The natural tendency for many investors is to overweight recent headline news, regardless of its actual relevance or
significance for a particular company, and underweight prior data that is wider and deeper in scope. This includes the
implications, if any, on the embedded characteristics of an individual company (e.g., pricing power, strength of brand name,
presence of significant barriers to entry) that are slow to change.
These information surges frequently lead less disciplined, short-term oriented investors into reacting to potentially irrelevant or
largely immaterial headline news and subsequently making cognitive errors and emotion driven mistakes. The result is stock
prices change more rapidly than the intrinsic value of the underlying companies, creating an exploitable dislocation or
divergence between the price for and the value of a company's shares.
Consequently, CastlePoint uses its proprietary Valuation, Screening & Investment Model (VSIM™), which evaluates and
calculates intrinsic values based on growth rates using a company's historical financial record for each company in the investable
universe. VSIM™ evaluates and relies upon a company's proven historical ability to generate cash flow; not on a forecast of what
it may be able to generate. CastlePoint's investment team uses this critical tool to determine an overreaction from an
appropriate one.
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10. PHILOSOPHY – FORECASTING & LONG-TERM HORIZON
Market Overreaction Fallacies of Forecasting Long-term Investment Horizon
Relying on the ability to make forecasts is a precarious basis for any investment process. The ability to accurately forecast
market trends, economic variables, or the earnings of a company with any degree of consistency is extremely rare. The
examples of expert forecasts being incorrect by orders of magnitude are too numerous to detail here. Furthermore for a
forecast to hold value, it must overcome three, almost insurmountable hurdles:
Accurate: The most obvious quality a forecast must possess is that it must be accurate.
Timely: A forecast ultimately proves accurate must be made on a timely basis in order for it to have value and there to be
sufficient time upon which to act.
Different from Consensus: Finally, in addition to being accurate and timely, a forecast must be different from the consensus.
A forecast consistent with the consensus estimate is, in all likelihood, already reflected in a company's stock price and
generally of limited value.
Market Overreaction Fallacies of Forecasting Long-term Investment Horizon
&L
Forecasting how long it will take for the market price of a stock to converge with its intrinsic value is extraordinarily difficult, if
not impossible. As detailed previously, the field of forecasting is fraught with danger. As result, CastlePoint takes a long-term
perspective when evaluating and acquiring securities for the portfolio and generally expects to hold them for at least a three- to
five-year period.
Aside from the obvious benefits of enhancing returns through lower transaction costs and more favorable tax treatment (when
applicable), long-term investing does not create the compulsion to “do something” in periods of short term volatility.
10
11. “CastlePoint’s enviable investment returns stem from a clearly-defined and consistently applied
investment process that is analytically-rigorous, artfully-implemented, and based on a combination of
proprietary research and sound financial theory.”
INVESTMENT PROCESS
12. INVESTMENT PROCESS – RESEARCH PRIORITIZATION
Investment Process
CastlePoint maintains long-term investment success is the reward earned for consistently applying a clearly-defined,
thoughtfully-constructed, and intellectually-honest investment process and, importantly, adhering to that process when the
pressure to abandon it is greatest. The firm's investment process is comprised of three parts:
I. Research Prioritization
II. Investment Research and Analysis
III. Portfolio Construction and Risk Discipline
I. Research Prioritization
The investment process begins with CastlePoint's internally-developed Valuation, Screening & Investment Model (VSIM™) to
identify those securities with the highest probability of outperforming the market. VSIM™ is grounded in widely accepted and
well established academic research. Although many of the concepts and formulas upon which the model is based are widely-
known, the process by which they are consistently and successfully implemented is highly-proprietary.
On a weekly basis, at a minimum, explicit intrinsic values are calculated for the companies in the 1,000 stock universe. The
universe is comprised of constituents from the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 Value & Growth indices (excluding overlapping
securities, results in 985 companies) with remaining securities selected by the portfolio manager. These additional companies
must meet high standards of financial transparency, sufficient liquidity, and at least minimal sell-side analyst coverage.
VSIM™ generates explicit intrinsic value estimates based on a company's operating performance, financial condition, and
management policies regarding capital allocation. The intrinsic value estimate encompasses every fundamental and operating
aspect of a company we believe is relevant, including effectiveness of asset turnover, degree of financial leverage, and level
and sustainability of net profit margins. It also incorporates and evaluates the management team's capital allocation policies
and decisions.
Importantly, the model adapts effectively and efficiently within the context of the whatever the current market environment
(e.g., interest rates and impact on market-level P/E ratios), giving it a critical dynamic component to succeed in a diverse range
of market environments.
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13. INVESTMENT PROCESS – RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Research Prioritization (continued)
The calculated intrinsic values are compared to the observed market price of the shares for these companies. Securities trading
at the largest discount to intrinsic value - theoretically providing the highest margin of safety and greatest price appreciation
potential - become the focus of additional research and analysis.
II. Investment Research and Analysis
At this point, fundamental research is focused on the completeness and accuracy of a company's reported data as it serves as
the primary basis for calculating intrinsic value. Off-balance sheet liabilities, such a debt guarantees by minority-owned
subsidiaries, synthetic leases, and special-purpose entities (none of which appear on financial statements), are added back to
accurately reflect a company's financial leverage and operating performance. In short, this insures the integrity and accuracy of
key model inputs for intrinsic value estimates for shares of companies in the investable universe.
The top quintile or 200 most attractively ranked securities in the investable universe serve as the pool of potential purchase
candidates. Securities that reach this point of the investment process as a group tend to outperform significantly the
benchmark and are generally out of favor, ignored, or misunderstood by the marketplace. As such, research is focused on
obtaining a deeper understanding of the sustainability of a company's embedded characteristics (e.g., pricing power, durable
franchises, enduring competitive advantages, favorable demographic trends and shareholder-oriented management) that
fueled historical earnings growth and the factors expected to drive it in the future.
The objective of CastlePoint's investment research and analysis at this phase of the process is to convert a mosaic of
accounting and empirical data as well as independent research and analysis into an accurate portrayal of the economic reality
of a company's operations - with an emphasis on conservative, very achievable growth assumptions. Assuming a security
passes the scrutiny of this portion of the process, the next step involves running a sensitivity analysis for select securities. This
involves constructing financial scenarios using varying assumptions which in turn generate a range of potential valuation
outcomes.
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14. INVESTMENT PROCESS – PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION
Investment Research and Analysis (continued)
The most important of these outcomes is the worst case scenario. Understanding the downside risk of a prospective
investment, a key element of preservation of capital, is of paramount importance. This entails gaining conviction on the
probability of its occurrence, the magnitude of the downside risk should that improbable but not impossible scenario occur,
and the potential signposts to look for if the company were to begin to head down this road.
III. Portfolio Construction & Risk Management
Portfolio Construction
During the final phase of this dynamic process, the objective of portfolio construction is to acquire securities with significant
upside potential and a high margin of safety (based on the results from the worst case scenario analysis), while staying within
CastlePoint's risk control parameters.
Industry exposures and the sector allocation of the portfolio holdings are an outgrowth or a residual of an intense focus on
security selection. There is no mandate to own a security in any sector regardless of the weight in a benchmark. Recall the
investment team holds a direct and substantial financial interest in the success of the portfolio and CastlePoint's primary
emphasis is on absolute capital preservation. Therefore, a loss of capital but "losing less than the index" (a benchmark-relative
destruction of capital) is never viewed as an acceptable outcome.
Consistently purchasing a security at its trough price or selling a position at the peak is nearly impossible. CastlePoint's
investment team recognizes it is simply not capable of doing so and to mitigate buying too soon or selling too early employs a
"time diversification" approach to building and eliminating stock holdings.
New positions in the portfolio are initiated at very model increments, regardless of the enthusiasm and conviction in the price
appreciation potential of the holding. Inevitably, unanticipated market events that result in little or no impact on the
company's earnings or growth potential take place as the position is being built, providing the option to increase positions for
the patient, opportunistic investor. As time passes and conviction on the initial investment thesis grows and the risk/reward
trade-off becomes increasingly attractive, the portfolio weight is increased typically in very modest increments of 50 bps to 150
bps per transaction. This continues until the stock is purchased up to 4% of the total portfolio.
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15. INVESTMENT PROCESS – RISK MANAGEMENT
Portfolio Construction (continued)
In the alternative case, when trimming or eliminating a position entirely, the same time-diversified approach usually holds true.
Existing positions are gradually sold into market rallies. However, if the investment team finds fundamental deterioration in a
holding's growth prospects, unanticipated changes in key personnel or operating strategy, or perhaps changes in a company's
operating environment (e.g., new, stronger competitors or changes in the regulatory environment) the position may be sold
more expeditiously than usual.
Risk Management
The central tenant of CastlePoint's risk management approach is risk is controlled first and foremost at the security level. The
most fundamental risk is not knowing or fully appreciating the operational, financial and valuation risk characteristics of a
company in the portfolio.
The investment team constructs portfolios comprised of stocks believed to be significantly undervalued and possessing a
significant margin of safety. Thoughtful consideration is given to an investment's upside potential; however, greater emphasis
M
is placed on assessing the potential for and magnitude of an investment's prospective downside level. Stocks are purchased up
to 4% of the total portfolio value and are allowed to appreciate to 6%. Once surpassing that threshold, the investment
discipline mandates trimming the position to avoid excessive idiosyncratic risk from a single holding.
CastlePoint also employs a sector risk overlay to manage risk at the portfolio level as well. Sector weights are limited to the
greater of the benchmark weight or 30% of the portfolio, whichever is greater. However, the industries that comprise a given
sector are diversified to avoid overconcentration in a specific market segment.
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16. “CastlePoint believes a strict adherence to its sell discipline is a critical factor
in adding value, curtailing investment risk, and
preserving client capital.”
SELL DISCIPLINE
17. SELL DISCIPLINE
Sell Discipline
CastlePoint believes a strict adherence to its sell discipline is a critical factor in adding value, curtailing investment risk, and
preserving client capital. The dynamic risk/reward trade-off that develops as stock prices change and new information is
received and synthesized is constantly monitored and evaluated.
Our sell discipline is multi-faceted and possesses both a quantitative and qualitative components.
In summary, portfolio holdings are sold for one or more of the following reasons:
The price of the security and its intrinsic value converge;
The investment thesis forming the basis for originally acquiring the security is invalidated or is no longer intact (e.g.,
material change in the competitive landscape, unanticipated deterioration in fundamentals, departure of key management
personnel);
A more compelling investment opportunity with greater upside potential is identified and vetted by the investment team
subsequently crowds out an existing holding; or
A security appreciates to the degree our risk controls mandate trimming the position.
CastlePoint's internally-developed Valuation, Screening & Investment Model (VSIM™) plays an important role in successful
execution of the sell discipline since it generates explicit intrinsic value estimates for portfolio companies. As the price of a
security in the portfolio converges with the VSIM™ generated intrinsic value, the position is trimmed. CastlePoint does not
speculate as to how much or to what degree a stock price will be carried beyond its warranted value. Once the intrinsic value
of a company's shares and its observed market price converge, the position is eliminated.
Consistent with our long-term investment philosophy, a stock will not be sold solely because of a near-term earnings
disappointment. The factors that contributed to the shortfall and whether they are a sign of a systemic problem with the
company are of far greater importance and the focus of additional research. A position will be trimmed and ultimately sold if
this further research reveals the original investment thesis is no longer intact.
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