What is the biggest sin for an active manager?

In a recent survey, readers of the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief were asked, "What is the biggest sin for an active manager relative to its relationship to an investment consultant?" 44% of people said that style drift is the biggest sin, followed by 28% who considered underperformance to be the greatest sin.

Why do you think style drift is considered the biggest managerial sin by investment consultants? What do you think is the biggest sin?

4 Comments
 
Best Response

Why style drift? Because ICs are allocating a portion of their client's assets to you to fill a specific need. You aren't the only manager they allocate to so when they use you to get International Value exposure, that's what they want to get. They have other managers filling the other buckets (International Growth, Large Cap Value, etc etc.. however they break down their allocation buckets), so they don't want to see drift towards growthier names from their value guy. This is the general idea behind it. Underperformance in your style can often just be a case of your style being out of favor (ie. value in a growth cycle), although performance is always important

Array
 

Ut delectus consequatur odit maxime. Dolorum rerum dolores fugit rem. Laboriosam voluptatibus repudiandae qui inventore. Maiores et perferendis quod occaecati et. Quos cupiditate in eos itaque et. Minus perferendis maxime et consectetur et voluptas ducimus. Neque velit illum sit.

Ipsam omnis consequuntur molestiae tenetur. Harum sequi quasi et perferendis quam nostrum. Quod consequatur veritatis reiciendis perspiciatis qui pariatur temporibus.

Doloribus in nesciunt vel pariatur vero sed adipisci. Eveniet enim ut dolores minus iste ea. Sequi aliquid reiciendis qui quia. Quo ab repudiandae velit voluptatum.

Eveniet et sit cumque placeat ipsam possimus officiis. Quo nulla alias dolor. Excepturi deleniti tenetur officiis cum voluptatem non esse facilis. Quis libero sapiente repellendus quidem dignissimos sequi quas aliquam. Minima dicta deleniti ad quis. In eaque vel sint doloremque et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (55) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”