The Broadleaf Growth Equity Portfolio (BGEP) generated a slight gain during the quarter but lagged the indices’ more impressive results for the second quarter in a row.  In general, our portfolio is geared to outperform in a more cyclically driven market environment than the defensive one largely experienced this year.  The portfolio began to gain some relative ground in the second quarter, but talk of Fed tapering at the end of May was a wet blanket, smothering enthusiasm for nearly all asset classes in the financial markets.

While our three and five year performance results are right in line with our large cap growth peers, there is no doubting the fact that the past six months have been unremarkable. Investment managers, like baseball players, go through occasional slumps.  As long as you haven’t given up on our investment process or your ball player’s inherent athletic ability, slumps can prove to be among the most rewarding of buying opportunities.

Of course, we’d never advocate buying something simply on the basis of recent performance.  In the following Market Review and Outlook, we will provide a deeper look at some of the details supporting our investment positioning and why we believe the market will ultimately move towards our line of thinking.

For details on our firm’s performance results, our investment outlook, and related disclosures, please read the attached Performance Review.