I see a lot of similarities between the military and the money management profession. Every new Second Lieutenant considers what it would be like to becoming a General. However, becoming General requires decades of service and commitment, impeccable personal stature and integrity, years spent away from home and family, and more than a little luck. In the investment business, thousands of people are recruited into the fund industry each year. A few will get a chance to manage large fund portfolios. These new managers step into their role with pride, ambition, and the intent to become top in their field. Yet, only a handful of those few reach stardom in their lifetime – the equivalent of a General’s rank in the mutual fund world, if you will. The rest never make it.
Here are some stats and the rest of the story: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
Rick Ferri
So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
- Rick Ferri
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So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
The Education of an Index Investor: born in darkness, finds indexing enlightenment, overcomplicates everything, embraces simplicity.
Re: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
Thank you.
Thanks to our shipmate Rick Ferri for another good article. It is hard to reach the stars!
Thanks to our shipmate Rick Ferri for another good article. It is hard to reach the stars!
~ Member of the Active Retired Force since 2014 ~
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Re: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]
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Re: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
Hi Rick,
Thank you for that interesting article on your website.
More importantly, thank you for your service to the greatest country on the planet! With Marines such as you, and the Armed Forces, my family and I feel safe and can sleep at night.
Best!
Thank you for that interesting article on your website.
More importantly, thank you for your service to the greatest country on the planet! With Marines such as you, and the Armed Forces, my family and I feel safe and can sleep at night.
Best!
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
Re: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
Great article, Rick. I was career Navy (but not an admiral!) Whenever we young officers asked our seniors what it took to get ahead, the answer was always "sustained superior performance in the hardest jobs." And as I moved up, I repeated that to more than one JO who had the same question.Rick Ferri wrote:I see a lot of similarities between the military and the money management profession. Every new Second Lieutenant considers what it would be like to becoming a General. However, becoming General requires decades of service and commitment, impeccable personal stature and integrity, years spent away from home and family, and more than a little luck. In the investment business, thousands of people are recruited into the fund industry each year. A few will get a chance to manage large fund portfolios. These new managers step into their role with pride, ambition, and the intent to become top in their field. Yet, only a handful of those few reach stardom in their lifetime – the equivalent of a General’s rank in the mutual fund world, if you will. The rest never make it.
Here are some stats and the rest of the story: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
Rick Ferri
Obviously, there are many officers who demonstrate sustained superior performance in hard jobs who never get the star. But maybe one subtle distinction between MF managers and military officers is that it might be harder in the MF industry to maintain the sustained part of the requirement.
Semper Fi and Go Navy!
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50-ish/50-ish - a satisficer, not a maximizer
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Re: So Few Generals, So Few Top Fund Managers
I'd compare if more to medicine ..
A lot of clever people become doctors, but within the healthcare system are all sorts of factors working against good diagnostics ... Doctors have little time with patients; there are league-tables and performance targets; and there's a huge drugs industry exerting too much influence at the level of patient well being
I don't think what Warren Buffett or George Soros do takes a genius-level IQ, or a string of profoundly good luck ... Rather they've managed to claw themselves into a position of trust ... Outside the few star managers, everything in the industry is designed to work against good long-term returns - especially benchmarks and short-term performance targets (what Warren Buffett calls the "institutional imperative", AKA the "short-term performance derby)
A lot of clever people become doctors, but within the healthcare system are all sorts of factors working against good diagnostics ... Doctors have little time with patients; there are league-tables and performance targets; and there's a huge drugs industry exerting too much influence at the level of patient well being
I don't think what Warren Buffett or George Soros do takes a genius-level IQ, or a string of profoundly good luck ... Rather they've managed to claw themselves into a position of trust ... Outside the few star managers, everything in the industry is designed to work against good long-term returns - especially benchmarks and short-term performance targets (what Warren Buffett calls the "institutional imperative", AKA the "short-term performance derby)
"Economics is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking, which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions." - John Maynard Keynes