Investing is a complex and uncertain activity that requires careful analysis, discipline, and patience. 

There are many factors that can influence the performance of different investment strategies, such as market conditions and investor preferences.

Today, we speak with a leading figure in the field.

In this special edition of the Facts Vs. Feelings podcast, recorded live at the Excell conference in Nashville, Ryan Detrick & Sonu Varghese speak with Cliff Asness, Managing and Founding Principal at AQR Capital Management.

Together, they chat about investment management, the importance of understanding uncertainty in the market, and the need to learn from past mistakes. They also touch on topics such as market bubbles, momentum strategies, and the parallels between decision-making in sports and investing.

They discuss: 

• The challenge of quantifying investment strategies and determining if they align with clients' expectations
• A critical mistake made during the launch of his firm, AQR
• A definition of a bubble and examples of past bubbles in the market
• Cliff’s journey from considering law school to becoming a quantitative finance researcher, highlighting pivotal moments
• The challenges and misconceptions surrounding momentum investing
• Cliff’s research on the optimal time to pull a hockey goalie and how it relates to investment strategies
• The parallels between sports and investing
• And more!

Connect with Cliff Asness: 

• LinkedIn: Cliff Asness
• X: Cliff Asness
• Website: AQR Capital Management

Connect with Ryan Detrick: 

• LinkedIn: Ryan Detrick

Connect with Sonu Varghese: 

• LinkedIn: Sonu Varghese

About our guest: 

Cliff Asness is a Founder, Managing Principal, and Chief Investment Officer at AQR Capital Management. He is an active researcher and has authored articles on a variety of financial topics for many publications, including The Journal of Portfolio Management, Financial Analysts Journal, The Journal of Finance, and The Journal of Financial Economics. He has received five Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Awards from The Journal of Portfolio Management in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2014, and 2015. Financial Analysts Journal has twice awarded him the Graham and Dodd Award for the year’s best paper, as well as a Graham and Dodd Excellence Award, the award for the best perspectives piece, and the Graham and Dodd Readers’ Choice Award. He has won the second prize of the Fama/DFA Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pricing in the 2020 Journal of Financial Economics. In 2006, the CFA Institute presented Cliff with the James R. Vertin Award, which is periodically given to individuals who have produced a body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals. 

Prior to co-founding AQR Capital Management, he was a Managing Director and Director of Quantitative Research for the Asset Management Division of Goldman Sachs & Co. He is on the editorial board of The Journal of Portfolio Management, the governing board of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Finance at NYU, the board of directors of the Q-Group, the board of the International Rescue Committee and the board of trustees of The National WWII Museum. 

Cliff received a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School and a B.S. in engineering from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude in