WEALTH WATCH
STEPHEN CRANSTON: What does it take to excel in active investment
MY COLUMN on the challenges active managers face from index funds seems to have upset some, but stirred a few others into action. For Ben Kruger, the joint CEO of Standard Bank, asset management is a rounding error in his accounts. Neither his private client manager, Melville Douglas, nor broad-based manager Stanlib, owned by Liberty, carry the Standard Bank brand. But he still felt stirred enough to send a report from Credit Suisse written by veteran fund manager Michael Mauboussin. Mauboussin celebrated 30 years on Wall Street by giving his view of the 10 attributes of a great fund manager. He admits upfront that it is harder than ever to generate excess returns in fund management. SA is probably a decade behind the US in this journey, but even here, we are starting to see the benefits of skill become more elusive. He talks about the paradox of skill, which means that as skill increases, luck becomes more important in determining outcomes. He says absolute skill has never been hig...
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