Welcome. The Kovitz Investment Group's® approach to investing in equities is based on the methodology pioneered by Benjamin Graham, and as further developed and modified by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway. Mr. Graham distilled the secret of sound investment in three words - "Margin of Safety". This simple concept has become the cornerstone of the KIG's® investment philosophy. While we strive to maximize return, we believe that the primary and overriding investment criterion should be safety of principal with a focus on minimizing permanent loss of capital.
"Investment survival depends not on how well one performs during periods of market euphoria, but how well you navigate through the rocky episodes."
Our Philosophy
Our competitive advantage in management of equity securities results from the disciplined application of our equity selection philosophy which is based on adopting a business owner mentality while adhering to a "Margin of Safety" principle. This methodology is applied consistently regardless of short-term market events.
While success in equity investing may be defined by our ability to generate long-term net worth, success in fixed income investing may be measured by how well we preserve each client's net worth. We believe our competitive advantage in the management of fixed income portfolios is our diligent execution process, which enables us to capture excess yield without accepting excess risk.
Top Holdings
| Company | % of Portfolio |
| Wells Fargo & Company | 6.5% |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 6.2% |
| Lowes | 5.9% |
| Wal*Mart Stores | 5.4% |
| CVS Caremark | 4.2% |
| Apple Inc. | 4.1% |
| CarMax | 4.1% |
| Walgreen Company | 3.8% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3.7% |
| Bank of New York Mellon | 3.6% |
Historical Performance
12/31/2011
| KIG | S&P 500 | |
| YTD | 13.43% | 12.58% |
| 1 Year | 10.68% | 8.51% |
| 3 Year | 23.85% | 23.40% |
| 5 Year | 2.74% | 2.01% |
| 10 Year | 5.07% | 4.12% |
| Since Incep. (1/1/97) | 10.41% | 6.18% |
12/31/2011
| KIG | S&P 500 | |
| YTD | 13.43% | 12.58% |
| 1 Year | 10.68% | 8.51% |
| 3 Year | 89.99% | 87.91% |
| 5 Year | 14.49% | 10.48% |
| 10 Year | 64.01% | 49.68% |
| Since Incep.(1/1/97) | 352.97% | 149.51% |
View our most recent Fact Sheet.
