Negative alpha = lack of manager skill?

Does a negative alpha fund necessarily reflect on lack of manager skill? The way I think about it, the PM had to start from a target school, then analyst, then associate, then whatever, b4 he got to manage the fund. Regardless of his negative alpha, I think that still reflects on his 'skill'. What do people think about this?

Taking a step back, do people agree that alpha is a reflection of skill? And what do u think skill even is, in the portfolio management world

12 Comments
 

What does a top education have to do with alpha generation? Investing is an art just as much as it is a science. Most storied HF managers were salesmen in the 80s and were at the right place, right time.

 

This is where manager due diligence teams make their bread in portfolio management. A lot of quality managers underperform benchmarks in some funds and vice versa where a shit manager will pop off in a fund. It is about understanding how they do it. No alpha does not mean a bad manager necessarily without understanding more about the actual portfolio. 

 

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