I always get queries as to why we rarely churn the portfolio. We could always keep changing portfolio based on recent performance and convince you how much we add value to your portfolio. That is an easy path. Why we have chosen the difficult path? Why we prefer inactivity? Why we discourage you from chasing performance?

Based on our experience, we tell you that all funds and fund managers go through periods of underperformance. What matters is the long term track record and not a specific period of underperformance.

I recently came across a study done by Davis Advisors. They have found that all good investors, funds and fund managers underperform around one third of the time. The funds which ends up in top quartile over a 10 year period spends not less than 3 years in bottom quartile. During one third of the time, all long term best performers become worst performers.

We’re committed to provide you long term superior performance and not to keep chasing performance and provide suboptimal returns. Vanguard studies have also shown that performance chasing hurts long term returns significantly where as buy and hold strategy offer good returns. I’ve shared this Vanguard study earlier.

I also shared with you a study came in ‘Mutual Fund Insight’. If you’ve invested in a large cap fund in 2007 and kept changing the same each year based on the previous year top performer, you would have got an annualised return of 3.93%. Whereas buying a fund in 2007 and holding it for 10 years would have delivered an annualised return of 12.84%

Not that we keep quiet during periods of underperformance. We speak to fund houses and regularly keep getting their inputs. Most of the time we feel the issues are temporary and were subsequently proven accordingly. In rare instances, where we believe the future may not pan out well, we recommend change.

So please look at overall portfolio performance and not each fund’s performance. Since you hold around five funds, it is most likely one of them would always be going through a period of underperformance.

Our idea of value creation is not through activities. It is easy for us to do some tinkering frequently and show you action. We’ll never do that. What matters to us is you should reach your financial goals, build wealth and attain financial independence. We would hand hold you through various business and market cycles and help you reach there. We’ll do only what is required. Many a times not tinkering with your portfolio and not allowing you to do so in itself is a big value addition.

Don’t equate activity with progress. Investing is one area where activities should be minimal. Neither you should chase performance nor ask us to do it.

Underperformance is inevitable. Keep this in mind when you look at your portfolio.

I was reading this article.

During the period 2000 to 2010, CGM focus fund delivered an 18% annualised returns while the benchmark S&P 500 was almost flat. This means $100,000 invested in 2000 would have become around $500,000 in 10 years. Capital multiplied by 5 times.

Morningstar, a mutual fund rating agency, studied the performance of the fund and how much an average investor made money on the same. The surprising finding was that while the fund delivered 18%, the average investor lost 11%. Why? Because of the same old behaviour problem which we keep highlighting. After good performance for few quarters, investors pour in money. After few quarters of bad performance, they redeem the money. They don’t stay the course through ups and downs, to capture the actual returns a fund provides.

Davis Advisors conducted a study of funds performance from 1991 to 2010. During these two decades, while equity funds on an average provided 9.9% returns, the average investor earned only 3.8%. They lost 6.1% because of bad behaviour; chasing performance.

Over a 10 year period, even the best investor or best fund, underperforms for a period of not less than three years. According to Davis Advisors, during one third of the time, all long term best performers become worst performers.

That’s why we never allow you to chase performance. Every single fund in your portfolio would go through periods of under performance during ten or twenty year holding period. There is not even one fund which does not go through periods of underperformance.

What is important in mutual fund investing is what we avoid; like NFOs, thematic and sectoral funds etc. Also what is important is the fund hose we work with. Some fund houses are notoriously known for long periods of underperformance, lack of process, poor fund management skills, taking excessive concentration risk etc. We only suggest funds which has a long history of performing consistently over a period of time; across bull and bear markets.

Once chosen, how much ever pressure, sometimes some of you put, we don’t change the portfolio. In your own interest, we don’t budge a bit. Because we know for sure no fund can avoid underperformance. What is important is that is it a routine phenomenon or something fundamentally had changed for bad. In the rare cases of something likely to go bad permanently, we then suggest change. Otherwise, it is sticking to the chosen portfolio with discipline.

What is our biggest value add? If a XYZ fund has delivered 15% annualised returns over last 10 years, our clients would have also got the same 15% returns. It looks very simple but extremely rare. You may not even be aware how difficult it is to do this. The fund’s performance and investors return seldom matches because they don’t stay the course and keep chasing the recent performers.

Fund selection is only a hygiene factor. More than what we choose, it is important that what all we avoid. Once that is taken care, what matters more is mentoring your behaviour to ensure you stay the course without chasing the performance.

As we always say, chaser is a loser.

Don’t be a loser.