If you’re a frequent reader of our blog (or, better yet, a client who’s drank enough of the Apollo Kool-Aid!) then you know the importance we place on a long-term focus – on filtering out the noise.

Why is it important?  Because anything’s possible in the short-term.  Daily blips are a distortion.  They blur the line between a solid approach and an irrational, act now mentality.  They can make smart people look dumb and vice versa.

Remember that investing is but one piece of a larger puzzle.  If you prefer it’s one training regimen for the marathon of life.  Sprinters don’t win marathons.

So how do you find long-term investments?  To whom should you entrust your money?

The answer lies in incentives.  Skilled managers can identify long-term drivers of value.  Investors should have the patience for these theses to play out.  Therefore they should seek out firms that reward managers on long-term performance.

Excluding firms that use large sub-advisory agreements (sorry Vanguard!) here’s a list of the 20 largest mutual fund firms and details of how they compensate their managers:

fund manager bonus incentives (Mar 2016)