|
GAMCO Asset Management Inc., a subsidiary of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE:GBL), is pleased to
announce that the GAM GAMCO Equity Fund, managed by value investor Mario Gabelli since its
launch in October 1987, has been awarded Standard & Poor's AAA Rating for the third consecutive
year. Last year there were only 11 S&P AAA Rated funds in S&P's U.S. Mainstream Sector peer
group which is comprised of 1,120 funds, including all share classes.
Standard & Poor's AAA rating is acknowledged to be a highly regarded measure of excellence and
is defined by S&P as follows: "The fund demonstrates the highest standards of quality in its
sector based on its investment process and management's consistency of performance as compared
to funds with similar objectives."
Mario Gabelli, Chairman of GAMCO Investors, Inc. said, "We are delighted and honored to receive
S&P's AAA Rating which we believe validates our proprietary, research-based Private Market Value
with a Catalyst approach to individual stock selection."
GAM GAMCO Equity Fund is an open-end British Virgin Islands domiciled investment company,
sub-advised by GAMCO Asset Management Inc. since October 1987 for GAM.
Standard & Poor's is a globally recognized provider of objective fund information and a leading
authority in the investment world. S&P's evaluation process is based on an in-depth analysis of both quantitative and qualitative factors that are considered key contributors to long-term investment performance. These include the historic performance, volatility and portfolio construction of a fund; the manager's investment process, risk control, skill, experience and resources; and the group's corporate management, investment culture and stability.
The following two sections are excerpted from Standard & Poor's AAA Report on GAM GAMCO Equity
Fund, issued in December 2006.
Standard & Poor's Opinion (November 2006)
GAMCO Investors Inc., founded in 1977 by Mario Gabelli, has a research-driven, value-oriented
style of investing which is based on the classic approach of Graham & Dodd. Gabelli's original
innovation, which has now become much more common practice among investors, was to aim to
estimate the price an informed private investor would be willing to pay for a company, and to
ensure that there was a catalyst likely to unlock the value. This approach has stood him in
good stead over time and we have been impressed particularly by his ability to add value in
both growth and value phases of the market cycle ...
We maintain a high regard for the manager's highly disciplined value approach, which has delivered
strong performance over many years. The fund retains AAA rated status.
Management Style
Gabelli follows a bottom-up, value-driven approach, developed from Graham & Dodd. The approach
is disciplined in its use of detailed fundamental analysis to highlight stocks that are currently
undervalued, but have a reasonable probability of realising a private market value (PMV) through
the intervention of a discernible catalyst. The PMV is the value they believe an informed investor
would be willing to pay for a company. Catalysts can be a specific event or range of circumstances
with varying time horizons.
Turnover is usually low and was just 6% last year.
Research is focused by themes that reflect Gabelli's areas of interest and experience. There is
often a bias to industries such as media where a wealth of industry data can be used to compare
asset values.
Holdings should have a strong franchise, a shareholder friendly management and the ability to
generate free cashflow. Most opportunities are found in under-researched small-/mid-cap stocks.
Positions are built gradually according to conviction, on a 5-to10-year horizon.
Sector weights are not constrained and result from stock selection. Risk is controlled by
diversifying and not managed against a benchmark.
GAMCO Investors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages private advisory accounts (GAMCO Asset
Management Inc.), mutual funds and closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC), and partnerships and
offshore funds (Gabelli Securities, Inc.). As of September 30, 2006, GAMCO had approximately
$26.6 billion in assets under management.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Our disclosure and analysis in this press release contain some forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can
identify these statements because they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.
They use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe,"
and other words and terms of similar meaning. They also appear in any discussion of future
operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future
actions, future performance of our products, expenses, the outcome of any legal proceedings,
and financial results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and beliefs on
reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know about our business and
operations, there can be no assurance that our actual results will not differ materially from
what we expect or believe. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ
from our expectations or beliefs include, without limitation: the adverse effect from a decline
in the securities markets; a decline in the performance of our products; a general downturn in
the economy; changes in government policy or regulation; changes in our ability to attract or
retain key employees; and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or
investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations. We do not undertake to update
publicly any forward-looking statements if we subsequently learn that we are unlikely to achieve
our expectations or if we receive any additional information relating to the subject matters of
our forward-looking statements.
|