Michelle M. Gibley

Cordillera Asset Management (CAM) manages small-cap growth portfolios using a bottom-up, fundamental investment approach. The firm's process begins with a fundamental screen that narrows to universe by screening for market-cap and projected earnings growth greater than 20%. The screen further narrows the candidates to those that have demonstrated earnings momentum and high profitability. CAM then verifies that the ROE is achieved through operating performance and not through excessive leverage. They accomplish by screening for a low debt-to-equity ratio. CAM's process then applies a multi-factor optimization model that ranks the candidate list. The model is supported by internal and external research and seeks to confirm that the highly-ranked companies tend to outperform. The firm's proprietary multi-factor model ranks the stocks on the candidate list within economic sectors based on: estimate revision, earnings surprise, valuation and relative strength. The weightings assigned to the factors are dynamic and are adjusted based on market conditions. CAM determines the weighting to be placed on valuation and relative strength after assessing the valuation discrepancy between small-cap and large-cap stocks, relative to historical levels. The final stage of CAM's investment process is qualitative. Companies on the focus list are visited in person or contacted by phone to assess their competitive landscape and market share, barriers to entry, customer diversification, insider ownership, industry maturity and economic sensitivity and future growth prospects.

Investment advisor

Functions as a College/University