Our business philosophy is client oriented and focused on integrity.

• Our clients’ needs come first. Always. We know that if we serve our clients well, our own success will follow.

• Our assets are our employees and our reputation. We are dedicated to complying with the laws, rules and ethical principals that govern us. Our continued success depends upon our adherence to these standards.

• We take great pride in the professional quality of our work. We are determined to achieve excellence in every thing we do. If it came to a choice, we would rather be best than biggest.

• We take steps to identify and recruit the best person for each job. We select people one by one. In the investment management business, we know that without the best people, we cannot be the best firm.

• We stress teamwork in everything we do. While individual creativity is encouraged, we have found that team effort often produces the best results. It is true that two heads are better than one when it comes to servicing our clients.

• The dedication of our people at Central Trust & Investment Company, and the effort they put into their jobs is unmatched in this industry. We know this level of dedication and effort is an important part of our success, and more importantly, we know it benefits our clients.

• We consider our size an asset. We want to be large enough to handle all of our clients’ needs and small enough to maintain the loyalty and intimacy that our clients treasure. This contributes greatly to our success.

• We routinely receive confidential information when servicing our clients. To breach that trust, or to use confidential information improperly or carelessly, would be unthinkable. We take great care to see that all of our clients’ personal information is kept confidential.

• Our business is highly competitive. We aggressively seek to expand our client relationships and to win new business. At the same time, we know we must continue to serve our current clients, or someone else will.

• Integrity and honesty are core principles of our business. We expect our employees to maintain high ethical standards in everything they do.