Those under 40 are likely the most nervous, anxious
Having gone through that period yields institutional knowledge that guides future decision-making, Acton suggested. “Some people who have long track records – who have resources, stable themes, broad offerings – there’s a lot of benefit to that during these times of uncertainty and stress.”
Such dynamics become increasingly important for smaller managers, he said. “Smaller managers really get in trouble during these times because they get in a position where their own economics are upside down when these values go the other way,” Acton said.
Envisioning a surge of transferred assets this go-around too
The past may have been prologue: “I’m fully anticipating this period right not that there should be another surge of transferred assets – people looking for new managers, who have been cycle-tested,” he said, while expressing amusement at the nomenclature coming from tough times. “But there is truth to that if you’ve been there before,” he said of the “cycle-tested” term.
He expressed support for those navigating through today’s choppy waters without the benefit of having gone through the mill before: “If you’re under 40, you’ve never seen anything like this before, and it’s probably really causing you some anxiety,” Acton said. “But we have enough of the older people around.”
But he disabused those of the notion that today’s challenges are comparable to those of the Great Recession. “This is not that,” he said. “There are things that make it go more in that direction. But that was a scary time. I remember going home and not knowing if the bank would be open the next morning.”
Source: mpamag.com