Successful investing is more about having the right technical team infrastructure than having a 'genius' manager at the top.
March 25, 2026
Original Paper
Measuring Investment Decision Quality
SSRN · 6327798
The Takeaway
While the finance industry treats top portfolio managers like star athletes with unique 'genius,' research shows that investment quality is actually a product of software 'scaffolding' and data-sharing protocols, not the person in charge.
From the abstract
Financial markets operate as complex adaptive systems shaped by the collective behavior of their participants. While the industry extensively measures market outcomes, stock prices, flows, volatility, and performance attribution, it has largely overlooked the upstream variable: how investment professionals convert data, information, and knowledge into evidence-based decisions. This research project aims to close that gap. Conducted in cooperation with leading industry partners across Europe, thi