Investors have such short-term memories

Magda Wierzycka slams media reports on Stanlib CEO's ousting.

The fickleness and short-termism of investors is notorious.  Nothing illustrated this more than the unwarranted press coverage of a highly respected investment professional with many years of superior returns behind him after just one year of poor performance.

It is a well known fact that most asset managers manage their investment portfolios within tight bands relative to competitors.  The reason is pure "business risk" management.  It is easier to defend mediocre performance which is broadly in line with that of competitors, than to defend a bold position based on a show of true intellectual courage, that later turns out to be wrong.  The regrettable truth is that, apart from Allan Gray who has spent millions of rand on marketing its contrarian investment philosophy to the man in the street, there are no other large asset managers who have the latitude to take daring views. If their views turn out to be incorrect, albeit over very short-term time h...