Good fund manager(s) makes a difference.

Star Business had been running a series of articles on Investing. I truly enjoyed it...

But...

Take a look at the following comments.

• In this final part of our weekly series exploring investment opportunities, we look at options for a person who has at least RM1mil to invest.
  
  WHILE there are a variety of investment products in the market, their performance is subject to the expertise of the fund manager.
  
  According to Singular Asset Management chief investment officer Teoh Kok Lin, there is increasing accessibility to products as more and more products are being “unitised”; hence the fund manager “makes the difference.”
  
  A fund manager would be able to customise products according to the client's risk appetite and portfolio, he said.
  
  How a fund manager manages risks depends on his investment philosophy. Some focus on value while others on growth, he said.
  
  While the philosophy could be similar, how they implement it would be subject to their individual characteristics, he added.
  
  For Teoh himself, he looks for value in specific companies that are “unloved and unpolished gems.”
  
  On selecting a fund manager, he said it was important to look at the track record and the kinds of risk that the funds were undertaking.
  
  AmInvestment funds management division chief executive officer Datin Maznah Mahbob shared similar views.
  
  “Usually we look at the fund manager's track record over one year, three and five years,” she said.

Ok, I really DO agree that the fund manager makes a huge difference.

But..

In this industry, the fund management industry, good talent is limited. And worse still, these good ones they do not stay with a fund for a long time. Sometimes better job opportunity is available or offered and these fund manager(s) could switch for a better paying career. It's a possibility.

So for us, the investor, knowing and insisting that our funds, our hard-earned money is managed only by the best fund manager is a must but the investor should never discount the possibility that the TOP GUN fund manager will manage our funds forever and ever. Fund managers could always switch to another job.