Can you generate “Alpha” outside of your stock selection or market timing?
Yes, and lots of it. That is according to Fran Kinniry, Global Head of Portfolio Construction at the Vanguard Group. In 2001, Kinniry’s team created the concept of “Investor’s Alpha” based on the idea that professional advice can add substantially to the individual investors’ performance.
In our Masters in Business interview, Kinniry discusses the idea of investor’s alpha, and other ways advisors can add value. His analysis is that anywhere from 150-300 basis of annual performance can be found via a combination of financial planning, tax loss harvesting and most of all, behavioral management. He also notes that many people lack the time, willingness and ability to manage their own portfolios well, people with those characteristics derive the greatest benefits from professional financial planning — far greater than the costs.
While that conclusion may be rational, the specifics of where it is matters most is in the behavioral side. The best portfolios are meaningless if investors allow their own emotions to get the better of them.
His favorite books are here; A transcript of our conversation is available here.
You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on Apple iTunes, Overcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Bloomberg, and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.
Next week, we speak with Nobel Laureate Michael Spence about his work on the dynamics of information flows and market structures, and his book, The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World.
