A sound investment strategy starts with an asset allocation befitting the portfolio’s objective. The allocation should be built upon reasonable expectations for risk and returns and use diversified investments to avoid exposure to unnecessary risks.Superior investment performance is not our primary goal, but rather superior performance with less-than-commensurate risk. Above average gains in good times are not proof of a manager’s skill; it takes superior performance in bad times to prove that those good-time gains were earned through skill, not simply the acceptance of above average risk. Thus, rather than merely searching for prospective profits, we place the highest priority on preventing losses. It is our overriding belief that, especially in the opportunistic markets in which we work, “if we avoid the losers, the winners will take care of themselves.”