Rugby? Why yes it is very much like the world of fund management

Dear Reader,

I am at a bit of a loss at the weekends these days. The Rugby World cup is over and number one son, the only one of my progeny who plays rugby, is apparently studying hard at his first year at Leeds uni.

I am a massive fan of rugby. It is one of the few sports where whatever size you are there is a position for you. It is also one of the very few team sports where the referee is god and no chatting back from players will ever be tolerated.

I went to Linlithgow Academy in West Lothian and there learned to play. I was a hooker, the guy who is throws the ball in and tries to win scrums. I actually have no idea how I ended up in that position but it seems to have stuck.   The Hooker's role like every other role is pivotal and a bit fighty if I am honest.  I remember well the fiendishly difficult line out code calls we used to make up to try and confuse the opposition.  I think the highlight of my 'career' such as it was was when we played against George Watsons when the Hasting brothers were there. It was such a hard match and eventually was a 12 all draw.

To highlight that when it comes to rugby it doesn't matter the size of the dog in the fight rather the fight in the dog we can have a look at Faf de Klerk. He is the long haired scrum half for South Africa and if I am honest is probably one of my favourite players. He is 170 cm or 5 foot 8 inches tall and at 88 kilos is possibly one of the lightest pro players out there.   

He is absolutely brutal on the pitch against guys more than a foot taller and up to 35 kilos heavier. Here is a compilation f him in action and very much worth a watch if you want to understand that tackling is rugby is key.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M179l9hdZoY

Anyway Rugby teams are very much like the world of fund management  (Swiss Toni is back I hear you groan).  

ETF fund managers like Blackrock which manage 9.6 trillion USD are to me like the pack of forwards. They are not necessarily very pretty but are the powerhouse of the markets because of their size. They are will drive your portfolio up the pitch of growth and suck in competion.

The Back line in Rugby with players like Faf  are like agile individual managers. They are the pretty boys of the market and tend to make the most breakaway gains.  

The key point is that like Rugby your portfolio needs a blend of both types of fund to create a perfectly balanced team.  If you just have a load of backs (dynamic funds) you will get run over at some point by market forces.  Likewise if you only focus on ETFs you will miss out on some stellar returns.

Bottom line is diversification of risk is the mantra I will keep banging on about.  And with that I wish you all a pleasant day out there and Come on you Northampton Saints!

Don 'hooker' King