GARP, short for growth at a reasonable price, sits between the quality and value screens. This one requires 10%+ return on invested capital and equity, at least 7% revenue growth and 8% EPS growth, and a P/E ratio between 5 and 30.

The valuation ceiling is the point. It applies a quality-and-growth bar but refuses to pay any price for it, filtering out names that have run ahead of their fundamentals.

GARP is a middle path between deep value and pure growth. Rather than buying the cheapest stocks or the fastest growers, it looks for good businesses growing at a solid clip whose shares have not yet become expensive.

The discipline appeals to investors who want quality compounding without the valuation risk that comes with the market's most loved growth names. The trade-off is that the very best businesses are often excluded for being too richly priced.

The P/E ceiling does some valuation work, but a multiple is a blunt tool, so confirm the price with a proper fair-value estimate on your shortlist.

If a name you like is screened out for a high P/E, check the quality screen. If you want a lower entry multiple, the value screen is the counterpart.