Dear George,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You made two very interesting observations:

1. Some very established fund houses have been making the argument that analysts do not need to become managers. Their rationale is usually that the two roles are very different, as you suggested. And I have come across some very talented analysts who do not want to become portfolio managers. The fact that the argument is usually made by firms with an established army of portfolio managers does make one wonder if it is at least in part self-serving.

2. Indeed many fund houses do have other business requirements for investment managers in addition to managing money. At the same time, there are organizations that would rather their investment teams focus on investments and shield them from the media and consultants, etc.

Exploring these could make an interesting post in and out of itself and we hope to get to it on another day. Thanks again for contributing to the discussion.

Warm regards,
Larry