Gosling's Grouse: Skillfully does it

Skill or luck?" the marketing director of an asset manager asked me recently about a former top fund manager he has worked with.

Without hesitation I responded: “Luck”. He was a bit surprised, as he had always thought of his former colleague (a UK equity manager) as skillful. Ultimately the skill versus luck debate is what makes the industry go round, but it is at the heart of what we are all trying to do. It is not an exact science, so this particular marketing director and I will agree to disagree. But, of course, the argument is relevant once again because it is awards time – namely Investment Week’s Fund Manager of the Year Awards, which I believe, and the judging panel agrees, is about rewarding skill a...