Leith Wheeler subscribes to the principle that "two heads are better than one." As such, each of our asset classes - Canadian Equities, Foreign Equities and Fixed Income Investments - are managed by a team of senior investment professionals whose members are well recognized within our industry for their depth of knowledge and experience. Canadian Equity and Bond research is handled internally, while our Foreign Equity research is managed by Sprucegrove Investment Management.

What sets our investment teams apart is that we don't follow the pack; we never include an investment in a client's portfolio without conducting our own, detailed in-house research. Critical to this process is regular communication with the management of companies we own, or in which we plan to invest. It is essential for us that the goals of management are in line with the interests of the shareholders.

Although we use external research facilities and information services, we find that they are of limited value due to their short-term focus. As long-term investors, we develop forecasts of earning, yields, cash flow, etc. that go much further out in time than that of most outside research.

In 1995, Leith Wheeler made a strategic decision to hire Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. to manage our clients' International equities. Based in Toronto, Sprucegrove is one of the top global equity managers in North America and has an excellent track record of uncovering value. Like Leith Wheeler, Sprucegrove believes in the principles of value investing and shares our commitment to preserving and growing clients' capital.

In September 2001, we took our relationship with Sprucegrove a step further and gave them responsibility for managing our U.S. equity investments. This decision was based on Sprucegrove's proven talent and experience in the U.S. market.

Our alliance with Sprucegrove has allowed us to focus on the Canadian market and has given our clients the best of both worlds: expertise in both the global and Canadian equity markets.