Fund managers prove themselves

While the markets continue to hurt all investors, they have shown themselves to be a proving ground for fund managers. In circumstances like these there are two ways a manager can react ' by retreating to as low a beta position as possible and hiding behind the index; or by striking out, taking active positions against the market and, in general, trying to swim upstream. Advisers must decide which of these strategies to plump for, but both have risks. It is arguable that a growth manager with a large portfolio who reduces volatility relative to the benchmark is no longer doing his job of ...