EUROPE – US asset management firm SEI Investments says European fund managers shifted from value to growth investment at exactly the wrong time.

SEI said in a statement that many European fund managers moved from a core style to a growth style during the boom years. “This move could not have been timed worse.”

“As these managers moved to growth, market sentiment in Europe began to shift from growth to value.”

SEI has been boosting its profile in Europe following the appointment of Karl Dasher as its Continental European managing director in March.

The group added that it has conducted research which found that in 85% of cases the investment style of a fund manager is more important than the manager’s skill when it comes to investment returns.

“Their returns were down to luck rather than judgement,” it says.