Quant manager performance set for resurgence
Quantitative investment managers should enjoy a resurgence in performance once equity markets have settled, according to Russell Investments.
Russell chief investment officer Symon Parish said while ‘quant’ managers have “slipped back during 2008, we feel they will be back up the league once the environment normalises”.
“It’s fair to say quantitative managers have had a tough time over the past year, but it is important to remember this is part of the normal performance cycle.”
A combination of recent poor peer-relative performance and “increased scrutiny over ‘black-box’ modelling techniques has put quantitative investment managers under the spotlight over the past year”, he added.
“However, investors need to be reminded that no investment style is able to perform well in all environments, and a key way to measure the storm is to diversify across manager styles.”
New Russell figures show that over the past six years both quantitative and qualitative styles have enjoyed periods of strong outperformance, yet both styles have fallen out of favour at times.
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