With my grad school semester wrapping up, I finally had some time to kick back and read. I picked up a book that a mentor had recommended, and it struck me how much the ideas about trust in the book match what I’ve seen in successful portfolio managers.
After working as an investment analyst for over a year, I’ve realized that building trust and confidence with clients matters way more than just having technical skills. Sure, diving into spreadsheets is important, but to move up from being an associate to managing a fund, you need to earn your investors’ trust. They have to see you as trustworthy before they’ll feel comfortable giving you their money.
Looking back on my relationships with others—both the good and the bad—I noticed an interesting trend: the strong ones were built on trust, while the weak ones tended to lack it. This led me to outline four key principles that I call the Four Pillars of Portfolio Managers. Getting these principles down is crucial for anyone wanting to make it in investment management