How do you gain advantage in the investment management business?

One option is to work from a conventional perspective, and add to it superior knowledge or precision. This describes the high achievers who raise the bar by outperforming what others already do. Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods are examples in the sports arena. Great athletes all.

An alternative approach is to take a unique perspective, and by seeing things differently, capture advantage others may overlook. That describes original thinkers like Einstein, Darwin, and our personal favorite, Billy Beane of Oakland A fame.

Neither path to greatness is more heroic in our estimation. But our deep admiration does go to folks who take a fundamentally different perspective; those who think independently.

At FQ we have always cultivated independent thinking. We challenge what others think and we challenge each other. Since our inception, we have been ready to go with our own direct observations rather than coast on conventional wisdom.

A boutique firm that manages assets global in scope has certain constraints, so it calls for different thinking to stay ahead. You need to remain flexible and fluid, hone your competitive edge, exploit opportunities, and be systematic. This brings to mind why we admire Billy Beane:

• In 1997, Billy Beane had to manage a major league team with limited resources.
• He approached the problem from a different angle. He dared to think diffferently   about how to win baseball games. He used his precious budget to engage a   statistician.
• This led to a hypothesis that winning games may be determined by the number of   players who get on base – even by walking, as well as by hitting home runs. Beane   turned this concept to action by investing in undervalued players who could get on   base.
• In 2003, Beane, his team, and his approach to running an organization were the   subject of the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis.

Play ball!