Do You Dare to Look Wrong?

Many institutional investors, and especially those operating in a political or public arena, can find it unacceptable to look significantly wrong. Compensation cuts and even job loss can befall the institutional employee who's associated with too many mistakes as pensions and investments. For people who measure success in terms of dollars and cents, risk taking can pay off when gains on winners are netted out against losses on losers. But if reputation or job retention is what counts, losers may be all that matter. In that case, success may hinge entirely on th avoidance of unconventional behavior. That's unsuccessful.