Monday, December 14, 2015

Question From A Reader:
What Is A "Rockstar" Portfolio Manager?


I really didn't know, so I went to "Google" (which sent me to "Investopedia")...

"Great money managers are like the rock stars of the financial world. While Warren Buffet is a household name to many, to stock geeks, Graham (Benjamin), Templeton (Sir John) and Lynch (Peter) lead to extended conversations on investment philosophies and performance. The greatest mutual fund managers produce long-term, market beating returns and helped many individual investors build significant nest eggs."

Their Criteria:

  • Long-term performers : managers with a long history of market beating performance.
  • Retired: managers who have finished their careers.
  • No "team managed" funds: teams might change.
  • Contributions: made contributions to the investment industry as well as their own companies.


Well, like many a "rockstar" the closest you might get to them is their memoirs (or maybe an autograph)!

If you are looking for portfolio performance in a mutual fund or from any portfolio manager for that matter, it is going to be tough sledding. Most portfolio managers cannot even match the benchmark index that they are judged against.

We have just come off of 6 pretty good growth years so even just plain old "good" portfolio management is not so difficult.

What may make the difference between good and a little better could be how she /he handles your portfolio in the more difficult years (and certainly 2015 has been a little more difficult).

But my friends, alas, as you may find, it is not just about performance (although nobody is going to be comfortable with negative returns in any given year). 

It is about being looked after.

It is about communication.

It is about crafting a personal (or family) plan and developing a strategy that will take you to your goals.

It is about monitoring your plan and reviewing it on a regular basis.

It is about making adjustments to your strategy when necessary.

As the writer of the question put it: 

"I don't buy the notion of a rock star reputation. Actually, I hate that. What I think is most important is the ability to get quality service and value, no matter if they are big or small".

I could not agree more.


Tuesday is webinar day for our clients at High Rock, where we will discuss the global economy, financial markets and other wealth management matters.

It is Fed Decision Day on Wednesday, so we will certainly have that on our list of topics for this week.

We will post the recorded version at

at or about 5pm.

(No Blog tomorrow, I am off to see my granddaughter's Christmas/Holiday school performance).

But tune in Wednesday for more on the US Fed decision!!




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