Mr. Stapleton: Independence One Capital Management (IOCMC) is an investment subsidiary of Michigan National Corporation responsible for the investment management for Michigan National Bank's Trust Department. Independence One Capital is also a sub-advisor to the Independence One Mutual Funds, with Michigan National Bank as the investment advisor to the entire family. The Independence One Mutual Funds are a mutual fund complex established in 1989 and comprised of eight funds with over $1.6 billion in assets. The family consists of our flagship Equity Plus Fund, which is a large cap equity fund, and a small cap fund, an international fund, two fixed income funds, and three money market funds.
TWST: Are you known for any particular style of investing, and is it
implemented in the Independence One Funds?
Mr. Stapleton: It is. We have a top-down approach. We use the efficient
frontier curve, and we're very specific about asset class allocation. In
a meeting with a customer we first determine what their investment needs
and risk parameters are, then develop an asset allocation
recommendation. We then review the recommendation with the client.
Finally, we analyze the equity mutual fund universe or, if they prefer,
individual equities. We try to get best-in-class products to fill those
asset class needs. We do use the Independence One Mutual Funds where
appropriate. As I mentioned earlier, our flagship fund is the
Independence One Equity Plus Fund offering clients exposure to the large
cap equity asset class. This fund, an index-like fund, invests primarily
in leading companies that comprise the S&P 100. The goal of the Fund is
to track or exceed the S&P 100. There are very few funds that are
managed to the S&P 100. With the Equity Plus Fund, 80% of the Fund is
benchmarked to the S&P 100, plus the Fund has the flexibility to be
overweighted in various sectors. Thus we can give you the benefits of an
index fund, such as lower expenses, lower turnover, and performance that
typically tracks the S&P 100 with the ability to take advantage of
market conditions.
Tickers included in this excerpt: C, CSCO, EMC, GE, IOCMC, MSFT, ORCL, PNC, SUNW, WMT
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