GETS THE HAIR DRYER

The Financial Times’ Harriet Agnew has written an unflattering article on Lansdowne Partners, in which she compares the firm to the success and growth of Marshall Wace

The piece, titled 'A Tale of Two Hedge Funds,' looks at the two businesses that were launched at the same time but in recent years have gone down different paths. Lansdowne's assets are down twothirds from their peak, while Marshall Wace has gone from strength to strength and has positioned itself as Europe's answer to Citadel or Millennium, writes the Financial Times.

Having known both for 20 years, these are both amazing businesses - although AUMs may differ - with Marshall Wace's proprietary TOPS system and internal thinking the real industry differentiators.

There are definite lessons for all large managers in this piece, particularly the importance of clarity in corporate strategy, changing with the times, diversifying assets and product sets, and having depth of ownership.