101⁄2 Lessons from Experience

Book excerpt: In 101⁄2 Lessons from Experience, Paul Marshall distils the experience of 35 years of investing, including over 20 years at Marshall Wace, the global equity hedge fund partnership. He describes the disconnect between academic theory and market practice, in particular the reality and persistence of 'skill' - the continuing ability of the best practitioners to beat the market. But he also underscores the prevalence of uncertainty and human fallibility, showing how a successful investment management business must steer a path which recognises both the persistence of skill and the pitfalls of cognitive bias, human fallibility and hubris.