What is the next big investment opportunity? [video]

Skill, past performance, risk: understanding the fundamentals investors can and can't rely on

In this video you will learn:

The importance of chance vs. skill
Why skilled fund managers are hard to find
What drives investors to chase past performance

Transcript

Robin Powell: Hello there. Investors over-estimate the importance of skill and underestimate the role of chance in investment returns. That’s the key finding of a study conducted by researchers at the University of Mannheim in Germany.

The study’s entitled "Fooled by Randomness: Investor Perception of Fund Manager Skill". The researchers found that most investors base their decision on which actively managed fund to invest in on past performance. However, they fail to appreciate the extent to which volatility skews returns.

They assume that managers who’ve performed well were skilful, when in fact they outperformed simply because they took on more risk. Here’s Professor Martin Weber:

Professor Martin Weber: If you take the results together and ask yourself “What should I do?”, the first thing is: Don’t look at past returns. And you don’t chase past returns. Period. Most of the time, if you chase past returns, what you pick up is randomness.

Robin Powell: Professor Weber accepts there are a very small number of skillful fund managers out there. But, he says, that’s not the point.

Professor Martin Weber: The next question would be “Can you find these people? And is it worth it?” And the answer is, it’s very hard. Some people say you have to wait for 100 years in order to find out who’s a skilful manager. Suppose you find a skilful manager: Is he or she worth the money? If you have a skilful manager who is cheap then go for it. But in general, skilful managers are expensive.

Robin Powell: So, given how unlikely it is that you or I can identify the next Warren Buffett, why do so many of us try to do just that? For Professor Weber, it’s mainly down to two things: industry advertising and the media.

Professor Martin Weber: You have to admit that passive investing is boring. The media has every incentive to write about active. So the news is against us in investing. From the industry’s point of view, passive is much cheaper than active, so why should I promote it when I can earn more money on the active side?

Robin Powell: So, next time you’re tempted to buy a particular fund on the strength of an advert or an article in a newspaper, beware. Yes, it might just become a consistent star performer, but the odds are heavily stacked again it. Until next time, goodbye.

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RISKS

Investments involve risks. The investment return and principal value of an investment may fluctuate so that an investment, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the capital invested. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee strategies will be successful. For further information, please click here.

What is the next big investment opportunity? [video]

Skill, past performance, risk: understanding the fundamentals investors can and can't rely on

Transcript

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