Our Philosophy
Investment Management Philosophy from Your Tampa, Florida Investment Advisor
Before you invest with Suncoast Equity Management, you’ll want to find out more about our firm and our philosophy for investment management. We invite you to visit our headquarters in Tampa, meet our team of Florida financial specialists, and learn how Suncoast Equity Management’s high-quality, long-term investment portfolio can offer both less risk and satisfying results.
At Suncoast Equity Management, our investment management philosophy is unique among our peers. We believe that true wealth is created and preserved through investing in top-quality companies for the long term. Adopted from the proven strategies and results of two of the most successful investment practitioners over the last century—Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham—our objective is to consistently produce rates of return above market averages and above most other money managers while taking less risk since inception. ¹
At the foundation of our investment management philosophy are three principles:
We invest in businesses, not stocks. When we invest, we become part owners of a business. Therefore, our investment management commitment entails much more than simply buying and selling shares of stock. By focusing on individual companies, and not the stock market, we achieve a sustainable advantage.
We believe in a margin of safety. Part of our investment management philosophy is looking for every opportunity to reduce the chance of a permanent loss of capital. Our mindset is, the greater the margin of safety, the lower the chance of loss.
We have a unique stock market approach and attitude. The first priority of our investment management philosophy is to assess the intrinsic value of each company we invest in, and then we take advantage of stock market pricing when it is favorable. We don’t try to forecast or outsmart daily stock market movements.
Our success hinges on the fact that we own above-average businesses with strong balance sheets and moderate to low debt. By investing in this small collection of superior companies, we reduce risk while earning above-average returns compared to the market and most other money managers in our peer group over the long term. ¹
Our observation has been that many money managers and individuals spend their time trying to predict stock prices for the next day, week, or month with no consideration toward the benefits of long-term ownership. Since it is difficult to find truly good investments, we believe it’s worth the time to research and locate outstanding companies with integrity and excellent prospects for long-term growth. These are the companies that have earned our investments.