Warren Buffett's latest pearl - Managed Funds, page-9

Occam - tis this the esteemed Oracle that implies cap. asset. managers = a fraud, - I merely verbalise the insight, as he is not free to use those words.

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An interesting verbiage test:- The weight of words.

At my erstwhile school, the Commercial & Corporate Law Library devoted two full floors of publications, books & research to largely the 'Directors - Their duties & responsibilities'.

I imagine the ASX and APRA must maintain a similar resource.

All to ensure directors act in "Uberrima Fides" - Utmost Good Faith.

Yet still the bastards dodge & dive...

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The equivalent section on the Asset Manager's Duty of Faith & Responsibilities?

Nothing ... Zip. Nada.

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If ever an asset manager can't think of another way to screw his clients, a short stroll down to the Law Library to make a random selection off the case law shelves, would keep him/her enthralled for a lifetime!

A vast compendium of untested "how to" compilations for the bastard who can't achieve a decent "alpha" - & hence a legitimate (?) fee.

i.e. For the not so Sharpe (pun intended)

A vast selection of nothing for the REIT, ETF, Super Managers & Asset Managers.

Nada...

Makes you feel safe & secure?

For this their fees, are vast multiples of those of most major corporates directors emoluments / per assets managed.

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EG. I once held a holding in a fund in an "accredited" asset manager. They allocated my holding to the wrong fund! The names were similar. The fund I chose to invest in did very well, the one they allotted me to in error, performed dismally.

They 'rectified' my error, by simply reallocating me the holding as purchased, and signed for.

This was a material correction. The loss incurred to other members should have been deducted from the manager's fees.

Manager's mistake ... right? Well not so disclosed in the next bi-annual report, despite the materiality of the error!

NOPE!

The other member's carried that cost, and the asset manager's mistake was silently swept under the carpet.

"Mistakes come, corrections go to other people's money!BUT Fees NEVER falter."


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PS Occam how did the best five do? a) Looking back or better as b) selected ten years ago, spruiking forward?

i.e. Avoiding a back-testing bias?