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consultative and debated. Cumberland takes a bottom-up approach: The portfolio is built one position at a time. There is no top-down sector allocation.

Wilcox focuses on oil and gas, the financial industry, and financial-related technology. Wallach's expertise includes communications, media and entertainment, technology, capital goods, pollution control, and distressed securities. Oscar Schafer, who has been at Cumberland since 1982 after nine years as a portfolio manager and then a general partner at Steinhardt Partners, focuses on health care, chemicals, conglomerates, cosmetics, paper and forest products, railroads, textiles and apparel, and trucking. (Schafer retired at the end of 2000.) Glenn Krevlin specializes in beverages, foods, household products, lodging, restaurants, retailing, and consumer services. Dipak Patel specializes in the Internet, electronic commerce, technology, and entertainment.

The portfolio is heavily U.S.-biased because this is where disclosure is outstanding and the partners have a strong understanding of how company managements work. About 5 percent of the portfolio is outside the United States.

A snapshot look at the portfolio at the end of August 2000 indicates that consumer cyclicals comprise 23 percent of the long exposure and 6 percent of the short exposure. Technology makes up about 17 percent of the long exposure and 3 percent of the short exposure. Financials, health care, and energy come in next, each with about an 8 to 9 percent long exposure.

Two meetings are held each week. On Monday morning, the portfolio managers review the calendar, discuss what markets are moving, examine significant purchases and sales, and assess the general atmosphere. On Friday morning, they review the portfolios and positions in depth. Ad hoc interaction takes place throughout the week.

Each quarter, each portfolio manager does a formal review of his portfolio. Managers are required to write an internal memo for each security position initiated.

Wilcox says information alone is not an edge; information is now a commodity. It is insight that is a competitive edge, and they are able to maintain it through the cumulative wisdom of the organization. They keep the retired people overtly in the fold or close to it. Cumberland still has three of the original seven limited partners involved. Cecil and Mintz still have offices at Cumberland. Cumberland has an economic