Categories
McLane

McLane Becomes Primary Service Provider for fred’s Pharmacy

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s McLane Company, Inc., a leading supply chain services company providing grocery and foodservice solutions, has been chosen as the main distributor for fred’s Pharmacy. With more than 650 locations across the Southeastern part of the United States, this new service agreement allows McLane’s nationwide reach and expertise to consolidate the work of fred’s 60-plus previous distributors.

“McLane is well-known in the industry for offering supply chain efficiencies and additional benefits of scale of a single source of supply for key consumable categories,” said Chief Executive Officer, fred’s Inc., Michael Bloom. “Partnering with McLane as an alternate distribution source allows us to improve our efficiencies and overall direct-to-store process including our ability to improve service, assortment, and freshness; and ultimately grow sales and profit.”

fred’s recently participated in McLane’s value-add Center for Category Innovation (formerly Lab Store) process, where the retailer was able to benefit from McLane’s proprietary sales database and category managers to identify and capitalize on key merchandising trends and market-specific product mix and planograms.

“fred’s has uniquely positioned itself to be a successful pharmacy retailer with a broad value based assortment in the Southeast,” said Tony Frankenberger, president at McLane Company, Inc. “It’s a privilege to be chosen as a supply chain provider for fred’s, and further help the company reach its goals.”

About McLane

McLane Company, Inc. is one of the largest supply chain services leaders in the U.S. providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. McLane, through McLane Grocery, McLane Foodservice and wholly owned subsidiary, Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc., (MBM), operates 80 distribution centers across the U.S. and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company buys, sells and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 90,000 locations across the U.S. In addition, McLane provides alcoholic beverage distribution through its wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Distributors, Inc.

In May 2003, Berkshire Hathaway acquired McLane Company from Wal-Mart, and the company currently has more than 20,000 employees.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
BNSF

BNSF Launching New Intermodal Service Between Pacific Northwest and Texas

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Beginning Monday, Sept. 12, BNSF Railway (BNSF) will offer intermodal customers a new service option to move freight between the Pacific Northwest and Texas.

Shippers who move commodities and a wide range of consumer goods between Portland, Oregon, or Seattle and Dallas/Fort Worth (AllianceTexas) will now be able to reduce their transit times by up to two days when compared to rail transit time options currently in the marketplace.

The new BNSF service will be comparable in speed to single-driver, over-the-road options.

“We regularly work with our customers to identify and offer new and better transportation solutions to make their supply chains more effective. So we are constantly looking for opportunities to help meet consumer demands and this new service checks all the right boxes for adding efficiency to the marketplace,” said Katie Farmer, group vice president, Consumer Products. “With an economy as dynamic as ours, BNSF is focused on delivering options that strengthen the competitive advantage of U.S. companies through our country’s supply chain.”

This new service option, the first of other new routes that will be announced and rolled out over the next year, comes online just in time for the fall fruit harvest in the Pacific Northwest and will help local businesses get their products to market more efficiently. Faster, more direct routing means agriculture producers can move apples and other produce to southern markets at the peak of freshness.

By leveraging underutilized capacity in the central section of BNSF’s network, this new service option means that BNSF will offer expedited service for customers who wish to have their shipments arrive in Dallas/Fort Worth on the morning of the fifth transit day. From BNSF’s intermodal facility located just north of Fort Worth, customers can reach any of the major Texas or Oklahoma markets with a short-haul trucking option to move containers and trailers for dry or refrigerated goods. Northbound service will also be faster operating with both expedited service arriving on the sixth morning and standard service reaching its destination on the sixth day.

Traffic along the route will run Monday through Friday, in both directions. This route includes a refueling option along the way for refrigerated equipment that carry temperature-sensitive equipment.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Commentary Kraft Heinz

Commentary: Is Now the Time for Kraft Heinz to Make a Play For Mondelez?

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

When Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital put together Kraft Heinz in 2015, the talk in the street was all about whether adding Mondelez International would be the next step. After all, Mondelez used to be part of Kraft before it was spun-off in 2012.

At the time, Warren Buffett downplayed the idea, noting that the newly formed Kraft Heinz had much to do in order integrate the two companies.

“At Kraft Heinz, we have our work cut out for us for a couple of years,” Buffett told CNBC. “Frankly, most of the food companies sell at prices that it would be very hard for us to make a deal even if we had done all the work needed at Kraft Heinz.”

Is Now the Time?

Here we are a year later and the fate of Mondelez in the rapidly consolidating food industry is still not clear. The company just dropped its proposed takeover of chocolate king Hershey, and the question of whether it’s an acquirer or acquiree is back in play.

As far as size goes, Mondelez has a market cap of roughly $67 billion, as compared to Kraft Heinz’s $109 billion, and combined they would put Kraft Heinz ahead of Unilever, which has a market cap of $143.4 billion, and move it closer to Nestle, which has a market cap of over $246 billion.

Berkshire and 3G Capital

Warren Buffett has clearly been pleased with his dealings with Jorge Paulo Lemann, Alex Behring and Bernardo Hees of 3G Capital. Partnering with 3G has brought a tough, tight-fisted management style that seeks to ring inefficiencies out of large-scale legacy companies, and Berkshire has benefited by gaining equity and putting large chunks of cash to work financing the deals.

Much of Berkshire’s financing takes the form of preferred stock, which has paid high interest rates in a low interest rate world. It’s a deal that Buffett loves, and one that he also used to help shore up companies such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Dow Chemical during the Great Recession.

However, the high interest dominoes have been falling one after another as companies became healthy enough to get cheaper financing.

Similarly, when Berkshire and 3G went in on Kraft Heinz in 2013, Berkshire received $8 billion in preferred shares that paid it $720 million annually. Those shares were redeemed this summer as Kraft Heinz moved to lower its borrowing costs. It was a move that Buffett lamented in his annual letter to shareholders “…will be good news for Kraft Heinz and bad news for Berkshire.”

In addition, Berkshire’s $3 billion in preferred stock in Dow Chemical, which currently pays Berkshire $255 million a year, looks likely to end this year unless the market slumps, keeping the price of Dow Chemical shares below $53.72. .

Now that those deals have been coming to an end, a large chunk of preferred stock from a combined Kraft Heinz and Mondelez merger would be a fitting substitute.

Placing Their Bets

In August 2015, activist investor Bill Ackman took a $5.6 billion stake in Mondelez, a bet that clearly signaled he thought the snack maker would be acquired.

Among the other potential buyers could be Pepsi, which already owns Frito-Lay, and is facing declining sales in the traditional soda business, as consumers look for healthier options.

A Prize Worth Winning?

While a merger of Kraft Heinz and Mondelez has made sense to Wall Street, does it ultimately make sense in the world of consumer preferences in the 21st century?

When Mondelez was spun-off from Kraft, it was supposed to be the more exciting, high-flying of the two companies. However, its stock promptly slumped, and today it’s barely higher than it was five years ago. Many of Mondelez’s brands, which include Triscuit, Ritz, and Chips Ahoy!, reflect the consumer tastes from the 1930s-1960s, and its Oreo cookie goes back even further, first hitting store shelves in 1912. These brands are still popular, but will they be in another fifty years?

So, is Mondelez even a prize worth winning? That depends on whether there are similar savings that can be wrung out of Mondelez as there has been with Kraft and Heinz. If Berkshire and 3G think there are, there could be the next global food giant ready to take the stage.

One thing that is clear, in the 21st century world of food manufacturing and distribution companies, the assumption is that size matters in order to have global reach that can take advantage of growing markets in South America, India and China.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
McLane

McLane Debuts New Private Label Product Line

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s McLane Company, Inc., a leading supply chain services company providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions, announced at its annual National Trade Show that it is rebranding its private label company Salado Sales to CVP® (Consumer Value Products).

The private label company’s goal is to offer quality private label product lines equal to or better than name brands for a lower price and higher margins for retailers, and will be offered only to McLane customers.

Along with the rebranding to CVP, McLane will debut five new brands and provide an affordable and exclusive mix spanning 240+ foodservice, automotive, candy and snacks, general merchandise, grocery and health, beauty and wellness products. Road-Tech and Work Fare, two of McLane’s established private label brands will still be available to consumers through the rebranded CVP line.

According to a report cited by McLane, 47 percent of consumers buy more private label today than before the economic downturn began, and that one-in three US shoppers actively searches for store brands to save money.

“McLane’s new comprehensive CVP line provides retailers who don’t already offer a private label products or have the resources to stock private label inventory the ability to do so and at attractive prices, while keeping their gross margins and profits high.”

Having founded Salado Sales, its original private label company in 1993, McLane says it designed the new comprehensive CVP family of brands to reflect the needs of consumers today including delivering a product mix that offers relevancy, variety and value, while saving them money.

Under CVP’s umbrella, McLane will make available five new brands consisting of:

Hometown Market – The Hometown Market line will offer a variety of products like banana nut granola, nuts, trail mix and yogurt pretzels to sugar and creamer that support c-stores foodservice operations, and many of which will also meet The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) healthy criteria.

Pristyn Purified Water – Also part of the PHA commitment, McLane will support the organization’s signature “Drink Up” initiative to help promote more consumption of water. The Pristyn Purified Water is a purified bottled water line to be sold in 100% recycled individual bottles and 24-packs.

Excursion Beef Jerky – The Excursion Beef Jerky line is the ultimate protein snack with zesty flavors ranging from Smokey BBQ Pork Jerky, Teriyaki Beef Jerky, Cracked Pepper Beef Jerky to Smokehouse Beef Jerky.

YumBees – To appease the sweet-tooth, the YumBees line will offer various hard, gummy and chocolate candy products as well as a variation of favorite name-brand products.
Beau Dacious Biscuits – According to Pet Industry News, dog treat purchases consumed 16% of pet food spending in 2014 and are expected to grow exponentially. Beau Dacious Biscuits is a new line of quality dog treat products available in peanut butter, grain free yogurt and cranberry bites and assorted treat flavors.

“Consumers today want the option to purchase quality store-branded products at a reasonable price, so it made sense for us to up our commitment to private label and rebrand to fit the needs of our retail customers,” said Teresa Voelter, general manager of private label at McLane.

Voelter added, “McLane’s new comprehensive CVP line provides retailers who don’t already offer a private label products or have the resources to stock private label inventory the ability to do so and at attractive prices, while keeping their gross margins and profits high.”

Looking ahead, McLane plans to roll out additional new products under the CVP family of brands in 2017. Consumers will also be able to utilize a new product search tool located on the new CVP site to find their favorite products at one of the 17,000+ retailer locations.

About McLane

McLane Company, Inc. is one of the largest supply chain services leaders in the U.S. providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. McLane, through McLane Grocery, McLane Foodservice and wholly owned subsidiary, Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc., (MBM), operates 80 distribution centers across the U.S. and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company buys, sells and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 90,000 locations across the U.S. In addition, McLane provides alcoholic beverage distribution through its wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Distributors, Inc.

In May 2003, Berkshire Hathaway acquired McLane Company from Wal-Mart, and the company currently has more than 20,000 employees.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results

Categories
McLane

McLane Lands Circle K

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s McLane Company Inc., a leading supply chain services company providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions throughout the U.S., has been awarded the eastern and Midwest business by Circle K, one of the largest convenience store companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Included in the multi-year agreement, McLane will begin servicing 1,161 Circle K locations starting January 2017, and an additional 982 locations in January 2018, totaling 2,143 stores.

In addition, Circle K has extended a multi-year agreement with McLane to continue servicing its 1,356 former Pantry locations.

“Circle K is well-known and respected in the industry. They, like McLane, continue strategic growth throughout the United States to better meet the needs of their customers,” said Tony Frankenberger, president at McLane. “It is an honor to be chosen to service such a significant amount of the Circle K business, and to expand our relationship with Circle K.”

About McLane

McLane Company, Inc. is one of the largest supply chain services leaders in the U.S. providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. McLane, through McLane Grocery, McLane Foodservice and wholly owned subsidiary, Meadowbrook Meat Company, Inc., (MBM), operates 80 distribution centers across the U.S. and one of the nation’s largest private fleets. The company buys, sells and delivers more than 50,000 different consumer products to nearly 90,000 locations across the U.S. In addition, McLane provides alcoholic beverage distribution through its wholly owned subsidiary, Empire Distributors, Inc.

In May 2003, Berkshire Hathaway acquired McLane Company from Wal-Mart, and the company currently has more than 20,000 employees.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Berkshire Hathaway Energy

MidAmerican Energy Gets Go-Ahead for Mega Wind Farm

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s MidAmerican Energy has received the go-ahead from Iowa regulators for its $3.6 billion Wind XI wind farm.

In a joint news conference on April 14, 2016, held with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, the company first announced plans to invest $3.6 billion to install additional wind turbines in Iowa by year-end 2019.

Now that it has been approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, Wind XI will within three years become the largest economic development project in Iowa’s history.

When the 2,000-megawatt Wind XI project is completed, Hathaway’s MidAmerican Energy’s annual renewable energy generation is expected to reach a level that’s equivalent to approximately 85% of Iowa’s retail customers’ annual use.

In a release issued by the IUB:

“Today’s order states that MidAmerican has satisfied the two conditions in Iowa Code and is therefore eligible for advance ratemaking principles. The ratemaking principles associated with Wind XI, as agreed to by the parties, are reasonable. The Settlement as a whole will reduce MidAmerican’s reliance on fossil-fueled generation and position MidAmerican to meet ongoing and future environmental mandates in a manner that is more likely to benefit its ratepayers.

The Settlement’s benefits to retail customers will help ensure that MidAmerican’s current and future customers continue to enjoy adequate service and facilities at just and reasonable rates. In the settlement agreement, the ratemaking principles approved set the cost cap for Wind XI Iowa project at $1.792 million per MW including allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC). For the return on equity (ROE), the settlement agreement provides an allowed return on the common equity portion of Wind XI that will be included in Iowa electric rate base at 11.00 percent.

MidAmerican filed their Wind XI request for advanced ratemaking principles with the Board on April 14, 2016.”

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
MiTek

Two MiTek Companies Win 2016 Constructech Vision “Gold” Awards

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

BuilderMT and Sales Simplicity, both MiTek companies, announced that they have each won a Constructech Vision award for their work with Arbor Builders.

This is the 38th technology award for BuilderMT and the 15th for Sales Simplicity.

To manage its construction workflows, Arbor Builders has implemented an all-encompassing solution, built on three key software tools — BuilderMT’s Workflow Management Suite (WMS),Sales Simplicity for CRM and sales automation, and Microsoft NAV for accounting. (Microsoft NAV was implemented by a BuilderMT-Sales Simplicity partner company, Western Computer, an accounting specialist in the home building sector.) For its careful choice of technology in preparation for rapid growth, Arbor Builders won the top gold prize in the “Builder/GC Residential Less than $5 million” category.

In a recent case study of Arbor Builders, company founder Jason Adams said, “What’s best about these systems – BuilderMT, Sales Simplicity and Microsoft NAV – is that they are all pre-integrated; they all talk to each other, and data flows from one to the other as if they were a single system.”

“Our ‘Best of Breed’ business model allows home builders like Arbor Builders to pick elite software packages in multiple categories, all of which have been integrated for ease-of-use,” said Tom Gebes, president of BuilderMT and Sales Simplicity. “Arbor Builders can now grow its company at any speed, confident they have the technology platform in place to accommodate an essentially limitless number of starts.”

About MiTek

Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 2001, MiTek is a diversified global supplier of software, engineered products, services, and equipment to the residential, commercial, and industrial, construction sectors.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
GEICO Insurance

GEICO Ridesharing Coverage Now in Half of the U.S.

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Building on successful launches all across the country, GEICO now offers its low-cost ridesharing product in 24 states. The product delivers comprehensive coverage to serve Uber, Lyft, Split and other on-demand service drivers.

The list of states include: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Arizona, Iowa, Vermont, Wyoming, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia, Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Bridging the coverage gap, GEICO’s ridesharing product combines coverage options into a single policy that protects drivers during both ridesharing and personal use when the rideshare app is on or off, with or without passengers in the vehicle. The policy addresses the needs of on-demand service drivers and eliminates the cost and confusion of having two separate policies.

“Since its first introduction to the market last year, GEICO’s ridesharing insurance solution has consistently received positive feedback from policyholders on its affordable pricing and hassle-free service,” said Othello Powell, director of commercial lines. “As we continue to monitor the unique needs of ridesharing drivers, we’re even more determined to grow our ridesharing product to serve many more drivers in many more states.”

Powell noted that many policies may limit coverage options to one specific transportation network company and may only cover a portion of the trip.

“With GEICO’s ridesharing insurance, drivers are covered regardless if they are logged into the transportation network company’s app. They also have the flexibility to work with multiple companies.”

GEICO’s ridesharing product is offered through the company’s Commercial division at a price similar to personal auto insurance.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Berkadia

Berkadia’s Frank Lutz Elected Chairman of MBA’s Fannie Mae DUS Lender Peer Group

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkadia has announced that Frank Lutz, Senior Vice President, Conventional Origination, has been elected by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) to serve as chairman of its Fannie Mae DUS (Delegated Underwriting and Servicing) Lender Peer Group.

The DUS program is a unique risk-sharing model whereby lenders retain some of the underlying risk of the loans they sell to Fannie Mae, financing multifamily properties throughout the country. Last year, the DUS program provided over $42 billion of financing to the multifamily market, representing approximately 569,000 units.

The DUS program is comprised of 25 multifamily seller servicers approved as delegated partners by Fannie Mae.

“We are pleased that Frank was selected for this honor,” said Justin Wheeler, CEO of Berkadia. “His many contributions to the MBA support Berkadia’s longstanding history with the organization and reinforce our position as a leading DUS lender. We congratulate Frank on this recognition and support him in his efforts.”

Lutz joined Berkadia in 2011, and he is responsible for managing Berkadia’s relationships with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, as well as aspects of production including loan structuring, volume, profitability and credit quality. Under his leadership, Berkadia has become a top lender with both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, ranking second with Freddie Mac in 2015 for the fourth consecutive year and third with Fannie Mae in terms of delivered loan volume for the same time period. Berkadia was the sole lender to rank in the top three with both organizations in 2015.

Prior to joining Berkadia, Lutz was with Fannie Mae where he was an officer of the company, having acquired extensive experience in managing lender relationships and customers, developing business and resolving troubled loans.

Lutz has a master’s degree in business administration from Villanova University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University.

About Berkadia

Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation, Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA. The company was among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders for 2013.

Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.

In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.

The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Johns Manville

New Report Forecasts Strong Growth for Global Roofing Systems

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

A new report by Research and Markets forecasts strong world-wide growth over the next five years for roofing manufacturers, including Berkshire Hathaway’s Johns Manville.

The report, “Roofing Systems Market by Material (Asphalt, Metal, Plastic, Clay, Concrete), Product (Shingles & Plates, Tiles), Construction Type (New Construction & Reform Construction), End-Use Sector (Residential & Non-Residential) – Global Forecast to 2021,” notes that the global market for roofing systems is projected to grow from USD 109.72 billion in 2016 to reach USD 157.56 billion by 2021.

The compound annual growth rate is estimated to be a robust 3.06% from 2016 to 2021.

The report cites growth in the construction industry throughout the world as well as government regulations regarding zero energy building codes and green roofing have played a huge role in providing the necessary momentum to the roofing systems market, after the economic slowdown between 2007 and 2009.

© 2016 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.