Smead Capital Management Smead Capital Management (SCM) is a value-oriented investment management firm based out of Seattle, WA. SCM was founded by William Smead in 2007 after he had managed money for over 14 years at predecessor firms. SCM currently focuses on managing large capitalization separate accounts as well as a proprietary mutual fund.

The portfolio management process is defined by SCM's Eight Invesment Criteria:
1) Strong Balance Sheet – Preferably more cash than debt or the ability to pay off debt in two years out of free cash flow
2) Long History of Profits and Dividends (or stock buybacks)
3) History of Shareholder Friendliness - Making shareholder friendly choices with available capital
4) Strong Insider Ownership (preferably with recent purchases)
5) Easy to Understand – Business meets a sustainable economic need
6) High levels of free cash flow
7) Strong Moat – High levels of profitability maintained by barriers to entry
8) Low Price-to-Earnings Ratio (or price-to-sales/cash flow/book value) in comparison to the last five years