Alpha is scarce.
Manager selection is critical because the majority of portfolio managers will not add value net of fees over the long term.
Newer and more specialized managers often sustain strong alpha generation.
Experience has led us to focus on a subset of managers with better incentive alignment, deeper knowledge, greater focus, and disciplined capacity management.
Hands-on execution by an experienced and diverse team is critical.
High complexity requires the application of deep knowledge and diverse perspective by seasoned investment professionals. Experienced senior leaders play a highly active role in investment underwriting and portfolio construction.
Concentration in best ideas creates value over time.
We seek to build high-conviction portfolios and do not sacrifice manager quality purely for the sake of diversification. We pursue a diverse set of alpha sources, but believe over-diversification can be one of the greatest impediments to long term outperformance.
Effective risk management must be forward-thinking.
Backward-looking measures of risk (e.g., standard deviation and VaR) have limits – especially for forecasting risk in stressed market environments. These traditional measures should be married with a forward-looking risk assessment process.