MCG's consulting approach is to first educate our clients on the benefits of building a comprehensive investment program and to then assist our clients in taking the necessary steps to implement, maintain and to further expand the investment program, as appropriate.

Our investment philosophy is that the primary driver of a benefit funds investment return is its asset allocation structure. Higher investment returns can be achieved by increasing a benefit funds exposure to higher risk/return asset classes, but risk can be mitigated by building a diversified structure of asset classes that are not highly correlated with each other. That is why Investment Policy Development & Review is the first step of each consulting relationship.

Part of MCG's role as investment consultant is to assist the Trustees in Performance Evaluation. MCG's performance analysis does not rely on the rate of return reported by the investment managers. Instead, MCG uses data provided by the fund's custodian to calculate a monthly return for each investment account. The performance of each investment manager and each fund is constantly evaluated. Each manager is evaluated relative to a specific index and to their peers in their specific asset class. Funds, as a whole, are measured against a customized index and MCG's proprietary fund performance database.

Pursuant to the manager and overall fund evaluation, MCG makes recommendations based on the needs of each individual fund. MCG's Manager Selection process is unparalleled in the industry. The lack of conflicts of interest at MCG allows us to best evaluate managers with the sole interest of our clients in mind. Our Investment Manager Search Group reviews thousands of investment products not just for performance but also for management turnover, investment philosophy, etc. The group also meets with hundreds of investment managers each year.

MCG also conducts periodic custodial bank reviews for each fund as part of our Custodial Monitoring process.

What sets MCG's services apart from our competition is that we provide clear, thorough, independent and objective advice to our clients. We do not just sell a subscription service for our reports to be handed out quarterly. We are there with our clients at the meetings discussing any issues that the plan may have, offering our collective experience with other trust funds to provide new ideas and approaches for the Trustees to consider. It is why we have contractually accepted fiduciary liability since the inception of the company. We offer advice, we accept fiduciary responsibility, and we sit on the same side of the table as the Trustees.

The advice and recommendations provided by our firm have added positive value and have proven beneficial for our clients' investment programs. It is our position that when an investment program is designed with proper asset allocation, disciplined manager review and significant involvement of a fund's trustees, a fund will be able to meet or exceed the goals established. Statistically, over 95% of our client plans have achieved their investment targets over the last 10 years.

The evidence that can be provided is with the long-standing relationships we have developed with our clients. Clients have expressed satisfaction with our advice by allowing us to work hand-in-hand with them over the years regarding their investment programs. A testament to this is the number of referrals and references we have received from our clients, which have helped us to become the largest consultant to jointly trusteed plans.

Integrity, focus, and resources are the hallmarks of MCG.