Schweser Volume 2 Exam 3 Noon Q28

Their answer is C, but I think it is B.

  1. After about two years, McGriff has taken control of managing his portfolio. Based on the description of his management technique, McGriff would most likely be classified as which of the following BITs?

A. Friendly Follower

B. Active Accumulator

C. Independent Individualist

In the answer key it says the reason its not B is because “we are told nothing to indicate that McGriff suffers from self-control bias”

Here is the relevant blurb:

Another year has passed, and Robert has assumed almost total control of the McGriffs portfolio. Little has almost given up on advising him, although she still meets with him regularly and tries to explain fundamental portfolio theory to him. In spite of Little’s efforts, McGriff makes his own investment decisions, which in most cases turn out to be sub-optimal at best. In spite of the results, McGriff seems to always be able to find evidence that his decisions are correct, sometimes seeming to deliberately ignore evidence to the contrary. Partly due to his ever-increasing confidence, he is now quick to interpret new information and adjust his portfolio in response, even when the amout of information he has is limited. In addition he is usually reluctant to change his decisions based on Little’s suggestions, and has frequently even blamed poor performance on Little.

I got this one wrong too… but I think it comes down to him having more cognitive (independent individualist) than emotional (active accumulator) biases. If he had more emotional biases, the advisor wouldn’t continue to meet with him to explain fundamental portfolio theory. That would be more of an approach for people with cognitive biases? Just a thought – i’m still not fully convinced on this one.