www.stjamesia.com St. James Investment Advisors 1-800-966-9343 Balanced Portfolio Objective The St. James Balanced Portfolio seeks to provide total return through a combination of equities and fixed income. The equity portion of the portfolio places an emphasis on selecting companies with above average dividends and those trading at reasonable discounts from our assessment of intrinsic value. The fixed income portion of the portfolio provides long-term growth of income and a moderate level of current income. Philosophy Absolute Return: We are absolute return investors and each investment must meet our strict fundamental research and macroeconomic criteria, not just offer opportunity relative to other alternatives. Long-term focus: We believe the best way to accomplish our goals is to accept short-term underperformance in exchange for long-term success. We expect to hold our investment positions unless fundamental valuation parameters change. We are not speculators and adhere to a strict value investment discipline. We are willing to hold cash. Why We Believe Dividends Are Important: • Over the long term, the return from dividends has been a significant contributor to the total returns produced by equity securities. According to Standard & Poor’s, dividends comprised an average of 35% of the monthly total return of the S&P 500 from 1926 to 2009. • Stocks with apparent high and sustainable dividend yields may be more resistant to a decline in price than lower yielding stocks because the stock is in effect “yield supported.” • There is an abundance of empirical evidence which suggests that portfolios consisting of high dividend yielding securities may produce attractive total returns over long measurement periods. Focus as bottom-up managers: Most of our energy goes to evaluating investment opportunities and trying to quantify potential downside scenarios. However, we do take some interest in the macro environment, as economic conditions profoundly affect the business models we are evaluating. Primary Portfolio Equity portion will be invested in dividend-paying equities and the fixed-income portion of the portfolio will utilize electronically traded funds or select fixed-income securities. St. James Investment Advisor We are professional portfolio managers Committed to Value Investing. St. James is an independent, fee-only, United States Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisory firm, providing customized portfolio management services to individuals and their financial advisors. Partnership Investing We invest our money alongside you as partners in our process. As managers we have significant amounts of our own capital invested in the strategy. Governing Principles We will primarily invest in blue chip companies with above-average dividend yields and an established history of paying dividends. The fixed income portfolio places an emphasis on investment grade quality bonds. We will treat your investment with St. James as if it were our own. We will remain significant investors with you in St. James Investment Advisors portfolios. Our decision-making process takes full advantage of individual insights within a partnership oriented culture. We are patient, long-term investors. We will discourage short-term speculators and market timers. We will communicate with our investment partners as candidly as possible. We think “benchmark risk” is part of investment life. Our firm’s goal is to earn good absolute investment returns over long periods of time without exposing our clients’ capital to undue risk. We do not think about any particular index when we make investment decisions.
All investing involves risk of loss, and the St. James Balanced Portfolio investment strategy could lose money over short or even long periods. The Investment Highlight position described above was randomly selected and was not selected based on performance. Views expressed regarding a particular company, security, industry, or market sector should not be considered an indication of trading intent of any investments managed by St. James Investment Advisors. These views should not be considered investment advice, nor should they be considered a recommendation to buy or sell. Data is based on a representative account selected because it has the least number of restrictions and best represents the implementation of the strategy. Presentations of composite performance are available upon request. Part 2 of form ADV is available upon request or at www.stjamesia.com. www.stjamesia.com St. James Investment Advisors 1-800-966-9343 Balanced Portfolio Quarter Ending March 31, 2025 | Commentary There are unfortunate times when we are “right” about a topic, and the start of 2025 is one of them. A common question we have answered since the election is, “What do you think will happen to the markets?” Our consistent answer, mainly due to today’s political climate, is that we anticipate market volatility. We have recently experienced some market volatility. However, as long-term investors, what does this mean to us? “Nothing” is our direct and rather blunt response! Investing has always involved market volatility, and there will always be uncertainty about the future. Investors should keep in mind that the stock market functions as a forward-looking pricing mechanism. As a result, it makes sense for markets to experience increased volatility when the outlook becomes uncertain. Fear of the unknown is a powerful psychological factor that affects the decision-making of both professional and retail investors. This fear can lead to various cognitive biases, causing investors to act irrationally. During times of widespread doubt and uncertainty, many investors stray from the strategies that have previously worked for them, regardless of whether those strategies remain sound. This highlights one of the core principles we follow when managing client assets: we remain disciplined in our time-tested, value-oriented investment philosophy. Our strong belief in our investment approach compels us to stay the course, particularly during periods of market uncertainty and volatility. While tariffs have introduced new challenges in the investment landscape, we will continue to adhere to our value-oriented principles, avoid emotional decision-making, and maintain a focused long-term perspective. During the last quarter the St. James Balanced Portfolio benefitted with exposure to: During the last quarter the St. James Balanced Portfolio exposure to the following was negative: The following are the individual contributors and detractors from the portfolio during the last quarter: As of quarter-end, the St. James Balanced Portfolio had the following compositions: Investment Highlight American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP), an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments. The company generates electricity using coal and lignite, natural gas, renewable, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, and other energy sources. It also supplies and markets electric power at wholesale to other electric utility companies, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, and other market participants. AEP generated 2024 annual revenue of $19.72 billion and has a market capitalization of $57.85 billion. • Financials • Health Care • Utilities • Consumer Discretionary • Technology • Select Industrials Contributors: Detractors: Amgen Inc. Amgen Inc. American Electric Power Company Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Alphabet Inc. Equities: 46.25% Fixed-Income: 52.00% Cash Equivalents: 1.75% Total: 100.00%