How much influence do investors have over their portfolios? Perhaps it’s less than commonly assumed. The notion that randomness plays a role in money management has been widely studied in finance–Nassim Taleb’s popular treatment in Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets is one example. The concept is a staple in the money game, although it’s easily overlooked, even ignored in some cases. Consider a simple rebalancing strategy. Does it matter which dates you choose to return a portfolio mix back to the target weights? Maybe, but the details matter quite a lot in terms of the answer. For instance, crunching the numbers on an 11-fund portfolio with a Dec. 31, 2003 start date shows that randomly choosing rebalancing dates tends to perform as well if not better than a consistent year-end remix and a buy-and-hold strategy (based on daily data).
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