Mutual Fund Performance

tion_start -->detrimental to client profits - These fees pay for
In the 1940's Fred Schwed and posed a simplethe brokers yachts.
question in his famous book - Where are theChoosing a manager to perform
customer's yachts?That's not to say you can't find good managers
He noticed that all the stock brokers, investmentthere are some around but you need to hunt
advisors, and fund managers had yachts, butthem out and there are many who do make
what about the customers? Where were theirmoney by taking a different approach:
yachts?Rather than paying dealing fees they have
If you have ever wondered why your broker orconfidence to be paid on performance, they deal
mutual fund manager never makes you moneyin derivative products and they give
this article is for you!representative track records of ALL Funds under
As applicable today as it ever was!management.
Both humorous and entertaining, this bookThe traditional way doesn't work as this quote
exposes the folly and hypocrisy of Wall Street.neatly sums up the problem:
The book gives brutally honest view of a world, in"It's amazing how well Schwed's book is holding up
which brokers get rich while customers go brokeafter fifty-five years. About the only thing that's
and it's still true to day!changed on Wall Street is that computers have
90% of fund managers under performreplaced pencils and graph paper. Otherwise, the
So why do the bulk of investment managersbasics are the same. The investor's need to
make money for themselves when the reality isbelieve somebody is matched by the financial
90% of mutual funds cannot even out performadvisor's need to make a nice living. If one of
the stock index?them has to be disappointed, it's bound to be the
The answer is simple and just as true today as informer."
the 40s when the book was published:John Rothschild, Author, A Fool and His Money,
1.Investment managers are great salesmen andFinancial Columnist, Time magazine
convince you with clever marketing material aboutThere are many hungry managers around who
their expertise and how they can do better thansee an opportunity to charge performance fees
you and most investors simply think they knowand put their interest as the same as the clients -
best.Making money.
2.The bulk of investment managers simplyThey may not do so, but at least they are
present the best fund they have they forget toshowing confidence and taking an approach that
tell you about all the ones that don't make money.can lead to big gains for clients rather than
They simply pick the best and eventually that onemediocre performance.
dives and they move to the next one.Targeting 30 - 50% annualized gains
3.They don't make money from making youMany of these managers are producing 30 - 50%
money in most cases. They earn money fromannualized gains. Simply follow the above advice
fees and their sometimes very large. Dealing feeson seeking them out and read - Where are the
and making money are a conflict of interest!customer's yachts?
Most of the time the desire to make fees is