Small Cap Growth Portfolio
Part of the Azzad Ethical Wrap Program
A comprehensive halal wealth management solution for high net worth clients, organizations, and business owners.
Why Small Cap Growth Stocks?
Small cap growth stocks are appealing due to their potential for substantial capital appreciation. These stocks represent smaller companies that are expected to grow at an above-average rate compared to other firms. Their smaller size allows them to expand rapidly, often leading to significant increases in stock value. Historically, small cap growth stocks have delivered strong performance, driven by their capacity for innovation and market penetration.
Investing in small cap growth stocks can provide diversification benefits. These companies often operate in emerging or niche markets, offering exposure to sectors not dominated by large cap stocks. This diversification can enhance a portfolio’s overall growth potential and reduce reliance on traditional large cap stocks.
The Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser based in Reston, Virginia, which has assisted clients for over 50 years with their financial needs and retirement goals. The Burney Company provides clients with comprehensive financial advisory and investment management services. They seek to maximize long-term returns through proprietary fundamental/quantitative techniques and equity research tools. The Burney Company offers discretionary investment advisory services and portfolio management primarily for individual investors but also manages portfolios of small businesses, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. They specialize in creating and managing portfolios of U.S.-traded equity securities.
Meet the Managers
Wayne Ferbert has spent his entire 30-year career in financial services. He founded Alpha DNA Investment Management to broaden the use of machine learning in the Hedged Equity space. He previously co-founded an RIA firm to specialize in risk-management strategies using options. That firm’s founding principles grew out of the book Wayne co-authored entitled Buy and Hedge, the Five Iron Rules for Investing Over the Long Term. Wayne spent 10 years in the online brokerage segment with TD Ameritrade. He managed Business Development as a member of the Senior Operating Committee-including M&A and Market Research–as well as ran Product Development. Previously, Wayne held planning & analytical roles at Fortune 500 insurance and banking firms.
Kenny Mezher, CFA, CFP®, is a highly experienced and dedicated member of The Burney Company team. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics and a minor in Business from Virginia Tech. Kenny is a highly driven individual with a strong commitment to providing exceptional service. He takes great pride in his work and is passionate about helping others achieve their goals. His analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to communicate complex financial concepts in simple terms make him an asset to our team.
Investment Approach
The strategy is an Islamic compliant U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategy that is designed to track closely to the performance of small-cap U.S. equity securities that are screened for adherence to halal investment guidelines and are classified as “growth” based on a multi-factor analysis. The portfolio population is limited to the population of the Dow Jones Islamic US Small Cap Equity Index and is optimized to behave similar in factor exposure to that index. The portfolio optimization includes position selection and weights that are designed to ideally outperform the index based on the equity research of Burney Advisor Services. Azzad Asset Management also performs an additional equity screen for halal compliance, which further constrains the portfolio population.
