These guys averaged a ~9% return over the last few years. The S&P 500 has exceeded that. So what’s so special? Seems that passive investing works just as well.
Who are "these guys"? The funds discussed in the article have average annual returns well above 9%.
“The firm’s biggest fund, Spectrum, has earned an annual average return of 9.4% net of fees since 2004.”
The S&P 500 has averaged 9% for 80 years. Joe Blow can buy index fund and do just as well as the quant clients. Sure, these guys are averaging 14% before fees, and it’s a great way to get rich. But after fees the client might as well just passively invest.
I am not even anti-passive funds but you are memeing a bit too hard.
After recently reading A Random Walk Down a Wall Street, my conclusions are: you are not going to time the market, the managed funds don’t do any better than index funds. 90% percent of the effort goes into squeezing out an additional 10%. So may as well spend 10% of the effort and settle with 90%. Of course fortunes are made on that 10%.
Joe Blow slinging garbage cans can retire a multimillionaire by steady, passive investing.