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Six money managers examine portfolio management strategies in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info550.htm

TWST: Tell us about your firm and your investment responsibilities.

Mr. DeRosa: Badgley, Phelps & Bell has been in business in the Seattle area for the past 35 years. The company started with two founders — Chick Badgley and Pete Phelps — who brought forth the concept of wealth management long before it was considered en vogue. Chick and Pete were dealing with high-net-worth individuals and businesses, and their client base grew over the years solely by referrals. I would say over the past 10 years the firm has increasingly focused its efforts on growing its institutional business in addition to the private capital growth. We have worked over the last decade to create the institutional product that we have today and are continuing to define its role in various investment environments. Of course, marketing our institutional product is a little more important today as institutional clients are less dependent on referrals and more concerned about the concept of good, strong performance. A solid product and excellent client service are, however, still very important to both types of clients, and we make this a top priority. We consider ourselves somewhat of a small boutique shop. Our current assets under management are about 1.5 billion. We have two mutual funds, the Badgley Growth Fund and the Badgley Balanced Fund, that have been up and running for over three years, which gives us several years of track record. We have 11 portfolio managers with an additional 26 in support staff, including our Portland, Oregon, office. My position here at Badgley, Phelps & Bell is Director of Research. I am also part of our three-member Institutional Equity Team.

TWST: Bill, I was just looking at your quarter-end update and was quite surprised to see that Colgate-Palmolive was a new company, which has been well-known as a value stock for quite some time. What’s the reasoning there?

Mr. DeRosa: We like Colgate (NYSE:CL) because, as a consumer staple, we believe it is the strongest brand and has the strongest management, in terms of product portfolio. Growth in that category has been somewhat mature, although we don’t necessarily think of it as a growth name. We do think that through new product introductions, Colgate can reaccelerate their top line, which has been somewhat unpredictable in the past. They’ve also instituted very strong internal management and are very efficient in terms of running their business, which has given them some double-digit growth rates, and we expect this to continue. We also believe that within the staples sector, Colgate and even names like Procter (NYSE:PG) and Clorox (NYSE:CLX) have started to enjoy better pricing. Volume growth has always been in the 2%-5% range and stays consistent; however, pricing has been somewhat weak over the past decade. We think that’s starting to reverse itself a bit, which gives Colgate, a leader in consumer staples, some leverage to the upside on that front. You will start to see some more return to top- and bottom-line growth, and we believe they are well positioned. We like their new products and believe they execute their business plan very well.

This special Investing Strategies Report includes:

1) Peter F. Ganucheau IV, Principal, Portfolio Manager/Analyst with GSB Investment Management, Inc., examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 11,400-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

2) William J. DeRosa Jr., Portfolio Manager with Badgley, Phelps and Bell, Inc., examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 4,500-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

3)Jonathan W. White, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Strategist for Banknorth Investment Management Group, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,100-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

4) Geoffrey R.B. Carey and Jane W. Korhonen, both Partner and Senior Portfolio Managers at Brown Investment Advisory & Trust Company, examine portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,500-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

5) Richard H. Earnest, Director for HighMark Capital Management, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 4,900-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.