COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Diamond Hill Investment
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DHIL) today announced that its board of directors has
approved a $10.00 per share cash dividend to shareholders of record on
December 1, 2009 payable December 15, 2009.
Ric Dillon, president and chief investment officer, stated, "We are very
pleased to be paying a special dividend of $10 per share next month, following
a $10 per share special dividend paid in 2008. With the combined payments,
the company will have returned to shareholders over $50 million in total,
tangible evidence of the success of this venture that began nearly 10 years
ago. These shareholder-friendly actions are highly unusual, but they
demonstrate most clearly that the board of directors and management of the
company see our duty to shareholders as second only to our fiduciary duty to
our clients."
Dillon went on to say, "a central tenet of Diamond Hill's investment
philosophy is thinking long term, knowing that emotions dominate market
movements in the short term, but that economics win out over the long term.
We believe that we have an excellent opportunity to continue to build value
for our shareholders over the next 10 years. To do so, we must continue to
deliver superior investment results for our clients."
"The asset management business is very labor intensive, as opposed to banking
and insurance, which are both very capital intensive. We have chosen to
invest heavily in our research capabilities, with the belief that doing so
will help bring about superior results for clients, as well as being an
important ingredient in the creation of a sustainable firm. Over the past
four years we have built a research team that now totals 18, representing a
significant ongoing investment. The cost of this investment clearly affects
our operating profit margin ("OPM"). A survey of the publicly traded firms as
well as information on privately held firms suggests that our OPM continues to
be above the industry norm, even though we are smaller than the average firm.
The industry average OPM has declined in the past year due to the bear market,
and ours declined as well. But rather than taking steps that would help the
OPM in the short term, such as layoffs and cutbacks, we have opted for a
continued long term focus which includes growing our staff. We believe that
this decision will result in greater shareholder value over the long term than
what would be achieved with a short term focus. Having said this, we think
our OPM will be at least consistent with industry norms over the next few
years, and we are committed to achieving an OPM that ranks among the industry
best when we reach capacity in all of our investment strategies."
"Hopefully shareholders agree that we have generally succeeded in delivering
shareholder value in our first 10 year period, and they trust we will continue
to endeavor to do so over the next 10 years, and beyond."
About Diamond Hill:
Diamond Hill provides investment management services to institutions and
financial intermediaries seeking to preserve and build capital. The firm
currently manages mutual funds, separate accounts and private investment
funds. For more information on Diamond Hill, visit www.diamond-hill.com.
Throughout this press release, the Company may make forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 relating to such matters as growth
of the Company's business, corporate objectives, prospects for achieving the
critical threshold of assets under management, operating margins, economic
trends (including interest rates and market volatility), intrinsic value of
the Company's shares and similar matters. The words "believe," "expect,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "should," "could," "goal" and similar expressions
identify forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date thereof.
While the Company believes that the assumptions underlying its forward-looking
statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that any of the assumptions
could prove to be inaccurate and accordingly, the actual results and
experiences of the Company could differ materially from the anticipated
results or other expectations expressed by the Company in its forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause such actual results or experiences to
differ from results discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but
are not limited to: the adverse effect from a decline in the securities
markets; a decline in the performance of the Company's products; changes in
interest rates; a general downturn in the economy; changes in government
policy and regulation, including monetary policy; changes in the Company's
ability to attract or retain key employees; unforeseen costs and other effects
related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and
self-regulatory organizations; and other risks identified from time-to-time in
the Company's other public documents on file with the SEC.
SOURCE Diamond Hill Investment Group, Inc.
James F. Laird, Chief Financial Officer, +1-614-255-3353,
jlaird@diamond-hill.com
