Sticking to its long-term investment philosophy has helped Mawer Investment Management Ltd. perform well through volatile market activity, according to Mawer chairman and director of research Jim Hall.

In an interview Wednesday, Hall said the Calgary-based company’s focus on long-term performance has been beneficial.

“Business doesn’t change much,” Hall said. “That’s what I think we’re getting good recognition for. If you have a good philosophy, stick to it over time and it’s going to do well, particularly in volatile markets like these.”

Mawer’s investment philosophy involves a bottom-up approach that seeks high quality, wealth-creating businesses at a discount to their intrinsic value.

“It’s a very common sense approach,” said Hall. “It’s one thing to find a good business, but if you overpay for it, it’s not a good investment.”

Hall manages the Mawer Canadian Equity Fund. He implemented a slightly more defensive investment approach in advance of the market crash 12 to 18 months ago. But in the current environment, Hall is sticking to his long-term strategy and taking advantage of opportunities to buy attractively valued equities.

“I wouldn’t call us aggressive, but we’re certainly out there doing a lot more buying than selling,” he said.

In particular, Hall has recently seen significant investment opportunities among financial services firms, energy stocks and infrastructure companies. While he is uncertain about market performance in the next six months, he expects high quality companies in these sectors to yield strong results in the next four to five years.

Mawer’s mutual funds were recognized at the 2009 Lipper Fund Awards in Toronto on Tuesday. In particular, Mawer received one of four group performance awards. The company won the award for best equity fund group.

AGF Funds won the award for the best fund group overall and best mixed assets fund group. RBC Asset Management was won the award for best bond fund group.

Mawer also received four awards for individual funds in the three-year, five-year and 10-year performance categories.