Fund managers with wealthy backgrounds perform the worst

    Press/Media: Expert Comment

    Description

    Cited: "Sociologist Nicholas Harrigan said directors of Australia’s top 100 corporations were about five times more likely to have attended elite high schools."

    Period24 Aug 2016

    Media contributions

    1

    Media contributions

    • TitleFund managers with wealthy backgrounds perform the worst
      Degree of recognitionNational
      Media name/outletThe Australian
      Media typePrint
      Duration/Length/SizeNewspaper article
      Country/TerritoryAustralia
      Date24/08/16
      Description15
      Fund managers from fancy schools perform far worse than their peers from humble backgrounds, according to a landmark new study that finds family wealth matters far more for returns than qualifications or experience.

      Managers born into the richest quintile of families — defined by parental income, home value or rent — produced fund returns 2.2 percentage points worse than their peers from the lowest quintile, according to a study of around 300 US fund managers from 1975 to 2012.

      That’s equivalent to about double the average annual fund management fees in Australia.

      “Managers endowed with a low economic status at birth face higher entry barriers into asset management, and only the highest-quality candidates succeed in entering the profession,” the study said. While all managers underperformed the relevant benchmark index by 0.5 per cent per cent a year on average over the 37 years, those from the richest families cost their funds about $US40 million a year more...
      Producer/AuthorAdam Creighton
      URLhttps://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/fund-managers-with-wealthy-backgrounds-perform-the-worst/news-story/466a41f3b75dd9c9273bd92a17c2a6c2
      PersonsNicholas Harrigan