The most overlooked trait of investing success is communicating to your clients the softer and emotional side of investing. A knowledge of market history. An acceptance of volatility as a normal part of investing. That you can be wrong on half your investments and still do well over time.

Becoming a better doctor means spending more time managing patients rather than managing patients’ illnesses. […] Just as in medicine, making good decisions is not the same thing as convincing your clients to make good decisions.

We talk about investment management firms, but we don’t really talk about investor management firms. For anyone who’s in the portfolio management business, managing your investors is at least as important as managing your investments. There is a reason why value stocks tend to outperform over the long run … the whole reason they work in the long run is because they fail in the short run.