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Welcome
Since 1994 we have served investors who value a calm voice, steady hands and thoughtful investment judgment. Our patient and disciplined approach emphasizes companies with iconic business franchises and enduring competitive advantages that can create wealth for our clients over the long term. If you value a long-lasting partnership based on trust and accountability, then we invite you to learn more about our service, our record and our values.
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HOW WE INVEST
There are many different and successful investment strategies. Our way is not the only way. However, of one thing we are certain: changing one’s strategy to fit the prevailing market trends will, in most cases, lead to poor investment results.
The purpose of financial markets is to provide for the efficient allocation of capital to businesses that create wealth and opportunity. Our goal is to align the interests of our clients with those outcomes, while minimizing volatility. Our time-tested investment principles provide a commonsense alternative to the speculative trading cultures at many investment firms.
Investment Principles
Invest for the purpose of achieving superior total return over the long run.
Emphasize companies with superior business franchises and enduring competitive advantages -- producing consistent and superior growth of profits and dividends along with high and sustainable returns on capital.
Invest in companies with proven managers who treat shareholders like partners.
Exercise patience, discipline, independent judgment and humility.
Minimizing Risk
Invest in less than 25 companies that we study carefully and follow closely.
Hold a portfolio of companies which, as a group, produce higher profits and dividends year-after-year.
Create a margin of safety by purchasing common stocks at prices well below our estimate of the intrinsic value of the company.
Emphasize investments in lower risk businesses – companies that enjoy constant and recurring demand for their products and services.
“Do not believe that you alone can be right. The man who thinks that, the man who maintains that only he has the power to reason correctly, the gift to speak, the soul – A man like that, when you know him, turns out empty.”
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WHO WE ARE
C.S. Clark
Charles Stone ‘Rocky’ Clark was born in 1954 in Fort Fairfield, Maine and grew up in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Rocky earned a B.S. in Economics-Finance from Bentley College in 1978.
Rocky began his investment career in 1978 as a stockbroker with E.F. Hutton. In 1985, he joined Clark Associates of Portland Maine as a Personal Financial Advisor. In 1994, Rocky co-founded Clark & Stuart. He has served as President since inception and is the principal day-to-day contact for our clients.
In 1990, Rocky earned the designation of Certified Financial Planner. He is a Past President of the Northern New England Society of Certified Financial Planners. He has also served as an Arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers
Rocky has been married to Anne since 1978. They have three adult children (John, Elizabeth and Margaret) and six grandchildren.
M.H. Stuart
Michael Henry Stuart was born in 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Brookline Village, just outside Boston. Michael earned a B.S. in Economics-Finance from Bentley College in 1978 and a Masters in Urban Affairs from Virginia Tech in 1980.
Michael began his investment career in 1981 as a securities analyst with The Old Colony Trust. In 1984 he joined the Investment Division of CIGNA Corporation. In 1994, Michael co-founded Clark & Stuart and has served as the firm’s research analyst and portfolio manager since inception.
Michael earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1991. He has served on the Finance Committee of St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel, and the Investment Committee of The Edwin O. Smith High School Foundation.
Michael has been married to Susan since 1983. They have four adult children (Katie, Alex, Jimmy and Julianna) and nine grandchildren.
K.L. dick
Katherine Lillian Dick was born in 1984 in Malden, Massachusetts and grew up in Storrs, Connecticut. Katie earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from The College of the Holy Cross in 2006.
Katie served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Sacramento, California from 2006 - 2007. She then began her career in non-profits, where she remained for nearly 15 years, serving primarily in fundraising roles for education and international development organizations. Katie joined Clark & Stuart in 2025 and is primarily responsible for business development and compliance.
Katie has been married to Nate since 2012. They have three daughters (June, Tatum and Camille).
“Opportunity was what set American history off from the history of all other lands. The frontier had been Opportunity. The American school system was Opportunity. The enterprise system was Opportunity”
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RESULTS
We manage all clients’ portfolios in the context of their unique objectives and their personal tolerance for risk. Therefore, the results we achieve for each client are more meaningful than the composite results of all clients.
The information contained on this site is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Prospective clients are invited to contact us to learn more about our approach.
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ResearcH & STRATEGY
Investment research is more than information. It is a search for truth, insight and understanding.
We rely on our own fundamental research to identify companies that are engaged in businesses with superior market economics, and we prefer businesses that are understandable and relatively predictable. Our approach emphasizes companies that have demonstrated consistent and superior profit growth and high returns on capital. We place particular emphasis on a select group of companies whose cash flows have provided shareholders with a rising stream of income through steady increases in dividends over many years.
We do not engage in market-timing and we do not base our purchases and sales on short-term assumptions for economic growth, monetary policy and corporate profits. Still, we monitor these critical variables closely in order to avoid excessive exposure to significant changes that might have long-lasting adverse consequences for our clients.
Many of the high-quality companies of interest to us are rarely undiscovered. Still, opportunities arise because the majority of investors are short-sighted – chasing the fads, themes, news and rumors that drive stock prices in the short term. Yet, history confirms that differences between market prices and intrinsic value are always corrected eventually – sometimes quickly and sometimes over a few years. Indeed, patience and humility are critical to our approach.
We share our research with our clients in our quarterly Investment Comment. In these reports we assess critical trends and issues in the economy and the financial markets. Most important, the Investment Comment includes reviews and analysis of our major holdings – providing our clients with a deeper understanding of the companies in which they are invested.
The Investment Comment is available at no cost and posted on this site after distribution to our clients.
INVESTMENT COMMENTS
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DISCLOSURES
This website provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Clark & Stuart, Inc. If you have any questions about the contents of this site, please contact us at 207-775-1140 or rocky@clarkandstuart.com.
Additional information about Clark & Stuart is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. You can search for Clark & Stuart using our CRD number: 107991.
Clark & Stuart, Inc. is a registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training or approval by the SEC or state securities authorities. The information on this site has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.
Information provided on this site regarding market performance, or the performance of specific companies and securities, should not be construed as financial advice. The effectiveness of any investment strategy depends upon each client’s individual objectives and circumstances, and information contained here does not imply that any or all current or prospective clients will achieve such results. All investments contain the risk of loss.
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CONTACT US
Clark & Stuart does not solicit new clients. Most of our clients have been introduced to us by friends and existing clients. Also, many of our clients maintained a passive relationship with us for several years before deciding that a long lasting partnership was right for them.
If you would like to learn more, we will be delighted to get acquainted. We can be reached at:
rocky@clarkandstuart.com
katie@clarkandstuart.com
michael@clarkandstuart.com