Getting more out of equity portfolios

Loosening the constraints How do some equity fund managers make more money than others? The essential principle is easy to understand: buy the right stocks at the right time and you should generate outperformance. But how do managers structure these multiple stock bets to create equity portfolios with the ability to access the highest potential returns? Traditionally the approach has been to take fewer bigger bets, constructing a more concentrated portfolio. This means a fund with just the stocks the fund manager really likes – their high conviction ideas with the strongest upside potential. However, the concentrated nature of these portfolios also means that they experience high levels of volatility due to the increased level of risk. Is there an alternative which can be offered to meet the demand for strong fund performance but with potentially less risk exposure? Can’t high returns be created from a more diversified portfolio?