ABSTRACT
The quality of any organization’s investment performance can be traced, in part, to its organizational enablers—that is, the untraded or intangible advantages that derive from its organizational context; for example, its sponsor, location, and/or place in the industry. The investment management industry is fundamentally about information processing. If senior managers aim to improve the process of setting investment strategy, then its implementation depends on the governance of the fund (delegated powers), the culture of the organization (accountability), and the effectiveness of knowledge management (information collection and distribution). The support of internal or external investment professionals to the long-term mission of the long-term investor (LTI) is a key measure of performance, in that many LTIs view it as a ‘signal’ of positive investment results to come. High-performing investment organizations are self-conscious about the value of their ‘untraded and intangible assets’ and seek, wherever possible, to sustain those advantages over time and space with respect to the activities that underpin long-term performance.
