Performance

For over thirty five years, since the firm's inception in 1974, TSBJ's goal has been to provide our clients exceptional performance while working with them to best understand their long term goals and risk parameters. We accomplish this with active duration management.

This ongoing objective for clients is the preservation of capital, which is reflected by our longer term results.

The preservation of clients' capital has been our key concern in the positioning of their portfolios in recent times. This cautious posture was adopted during the financial crisis and is currently maintained.

This began as an initial response to a turbulent environment, where we did not see the justification for risk-taking in skittish, damaged credit markets. More recently, the flight to quality in U.S. treasuries and the billions of dollars pumped by the Federal Reserve into the markets has, we believe, created a potential bond bubble and driven rates to an extraordinary low level where longer term risks outweigh any short-term gains.

In September of 2010 we shared our concerns with our clients in a piece called "Bond Bubble". In this paper we wrote: "Our goal has always been to exceed benchmarks and targets, over time, and our process demands risk-averse positions in dangerous times. We believe that the current market is as dangerous as we have ever seen."

This topic was revisited at the end of the 1st Quarter of 2011, and as time has passed our opinion has not changed regarding current risks in the fixed income markets.

Our performance in both our bond and stock portfolios reflects our independence in decision-making, as we do not seek to mimic an index or to take undue risks for our clients. Over the years the firm has demonstrated this willingness to separate itself from the crowd, especially when conventional wisdom is either overly optimistic or pessimistic.

On occasion, this approach may cause us to be out of phase with short-term market results, but our clients retain us to produce superior long-term investment performance.

By adhering to this approach through periods of short-term disappointing relative performance, we have outperformed many of our competitors in the long-term.