and competitive
advantage come
from our scope and
scale, inextricably
aligned with our
core strengths
of operational
excellence and
financial discipline.
Exelon's value and competitive advantage come from our scope and scale, inextricably aligned with our core strengths of operational excellence and financial discipline. That unique combination of size, discipline and metrics-driven operational focus enables us to view the entire range of investment opportunities and most effectively prioritize the deployment of capital. Investing at the right time in the cycle, acquiring and improving distressed assets via our industry-leading management model, building on our existing platform, or simply finding additional internal efficiencies are key elements of our growth strategy. We do not simply invest in assets; we manage those investments bringing all our focus and experience to bear on harvesting returns.
We exercise rigorous discipline in assessing the best way to take advantage of growth opportunities. Our retail operations demonstrate that discipline. Retail growth did not meet our expectations in 2012, in large part because we held to pricing discipline in the face of aggressive bidding by competitors which compressed margins. We think that was the right value move because we expect retail margins to improve as prices and markets rebound, as we continue to sharpen our competitive edge, and as the sector consolidates in the face of challenges.
Public Policy Advocacy
Our commitment to competitive markets and to clean energy, articulated and implemented through Exelon 2020, provides a sound basis for our own investments in energy as well as for the formulation of public policy. Over the past year, Exelon has been in the midst of consequential political, policy, and regulatory debates at the federal and state levels on issues of critical importance to our communities, our customers, and our shareholders. Properly designed competitive markets ensure cost-effective, reliable power supply and have also demonstrated the ability to clean the generation stack in the most efficient way. We believe in competitive energy markets, and know that our customers are harmed when markets are not allowed to work.