John Ward Morris

BLA takes a rigorous approach to equity selection. Their core equity strategy is designed to provide their clients with broad sector diversification in large-cap growth and value companies. Their initial position is index neutral. They then over- or underweight certain sectors of the S&P 500 based on research and outlook. The firm believes this discipline to be the bedrock to their client's investment portfolio. Their focus is on long-term growth and low portfolio turnover to maximize tax efficiencies. The firm's fixed-income discipline takes a structured approach with a bias toward high quality, liquid securities. BLA matches their client's fixed-income portfolio to the client's income needs. Tax efficiency and objectivity guide their fixed-income oversight. They believe that their day-to-day involvement in the fixed-income markets gives them a knowledge base and executional strength that translates into added value for their clients. Although BLA's scope of skills and experiences is broad, they recognize there are circumstances in which it may be useful to call upon investment disciplines that are not practiced in-house. They therefore maintain strong alliances with outside managers in a variety of investment disciplines to ensure proper diversification. They have created alliances with managers in the following specialized disciplines: deep value, small-cap and international equity, private equity/venture capital and hedge funds.

Provides securities brokerage services

Crestwood Advisors constructs portfolios with a strict valuation discipline and securities are proactively rebalanced based on changing client objectives and the firm’s fundamental outlook for individual securities, asset classes, investment markets and global economies. Crestwood customizes portfolios based on each client’s unique income needs, risk tolerance and time horizon. The firm employs a global investment strategy, which includes both a top-down and bottom-up approach to asset management. As a global investor, Crestwood focuses on investing in securities or markets where it seeks to obtain responsible risk-adjusted returns over time. The firm attempts to reduce downside risk and enhance upside risk-adjusted returns by placing clients’ capital in a diverse mix of correlating and non-correlating assets. For the equity allocation of a portfolio, Crestwood seeks to invest in individual companies with the following attributes: distinct competitive advantages; attractive and growing cash flows; solid and/or improving economic returns; diverse revenue streams; and dividend payouts and buybacks. For the fixed income portion, the firm seeks to invest in both domestic and international fixed-income vehicles. In many cases, they purchase individual taxable or tax exempt bonds in order to target bond duration, credit quality and liquidity. As for other income-oriented investments, Crestwood employs ETFs and/or mutual funds in an effort to achieve a well-diversified portfolio that includes positions in both domestic and international debt securities. Crestwood augments their portfolios by investing in ETFs, ETNs and mutual funds to give portfolios exposure to focused asset classes such as international and emerging equity markets. ETFs are also used to gain exposure to hard assets, such as gold, agriculture and energy. For certain accredited investors, Crestwood may review investments in privately placed collective investment vehicles, some of which may be hedge funds. The managers of these vehicles have broad discretion in selecting the investments. There are few limitations on the types of securities or other financial instruments which may be traded and no requirement to diversify.

Functions as a College/University

Functions as a College/University