On Tuesday, February 6, Meghan Holtz pitched Caterpillar Inc. to be added to the SMIF portfolio. She is confident that Caterpillar is well positioned to deliver growth in the next one to two years. Caterpillar is the largest worldwide company in the machinery industry with an 18 percent increase in sales in 2017. Caterpillar will continue to grow with an expanding economy and an increasing infrastructure budget. She emphasized decreasing expenses due to a restructuring program that Caterpillar has implemented and improving margins as a catalyst for earnings growth after four years of falling sales. Caterpillar has an established global footprint and their new company strategy, O&E Model, will help expand the company’s market share and best service its customers and shareholders. This investment diversifies the SMIF portfolio by giving exposure to the heavy construction machinery industry. The class approved the motion to purchase 50 shares of Caterpillar and fund this purchase through the sale of industrial ETF, XLI and using SPY to fund the remaining cash balance.