We know from other industries the ability to learn faster than your competitors in your specialization, may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.

In the past, applying behavioural insights was predominantly used to install “sludges” to make us consume goods and services not necessarily in our best interest. The consumer psychology literature is full of those destructive forms of nudges (Shiller, 2015). Small to medium sized asset managers (anyone below USD 1 trillion) can buy time through the use of technology, cost management and the persistence of client loyalty.

We know from other industries with intact competition, that the most effective response to size is  specialization. Instead, the asset management industry tends to interpret specialization as form over substance, where pseudo innovations a la MinVar, Smart-Beta, VaR-optimized portfolios or risk parity still dominate the distribution pipelines.

All of the above share the same or similar basic assumptions and are made for a relatively static world, in which a correlation-based understanding of risk has proven sufficient. This is not how capital markets work: the world is dynamic, markets are adaptive and human decision makers rely on bounded rationality. How to assess, which financial innovation is worth a consideration for you investment process? Participants will learn how to validate/falsify innovations in finance.

Mag. Dr. Markus Schuller, MBA, MScFE

Founder & Managing Partner / Panthera Solutions Sarl

Markus Schuller  is the founder and managing partner of Panthera Solutions Sarl, a leading applied behavioral finance consultancy. As award-winning Investment Decision Architects™, Panthera optimizes the choice architecture of professional investors through applied behavioral finance methods. Empowering the decision makers towards comparative advantages in capital markets remains the ultimate goal. The Panthera intervention toolbox has proven to be equally effective and innovative.

As adjunct professor, Markus teaches courses like “Asset Allocation & Applied Behavioral Finance“, Risk Management & Applied Behavioral Finance”, “Investment Banking” and “Narrative Reporting” at renowned Master in Finance programs of the EDHEC Business School, the IE Business School and the International University of Monaco. Markus publishes in academic top journals (i.e. Journal of Portfolio Management, 2018), writes articles for professional journals (i.e. CFA Institute, OECD Insights, etc.) and holds keynotes at international investment conferences. 

As an investment banker, adjunct professor and author, Markus looks back at 20 rewarding years of trading, structuring, and managing standard and alternative investment products. Prior to founding Panthera Solutions, he worked in executive roles for a long/short equity hedge fund for which he developed the trading algorithm. Markus started his career working as equity trader, derivatives trader and macro analyst for different banks.