Fieldstone's objective is to achieve superior long–term performance consistent with each client's risk tolerance level and time horizon. Our approach is to develop a financial road map with each client and assemble a portfolio most likely to achieve the desired goals. Because each client's portfolio is tailored to meet his/her specific goals, each portfolio's performance will vary. Most of our clients are tilted toward the conservative to only moderately aggressive investment style. Consequently, our portfolios tend to consist of higher levels of cash, fixed income instruments and more conservative equity investments. This composition will tend to produce lower overall returns than pure equity portfolios when equity markets are rising, as in the four years prior to 2000. Importantly, we view our key objective as meeting or exceeding the client's long-term goals and not necessarily beating the major equity indices each year.