Joe Wiggins, "The Intelligent Fund Investor: Practical Steps for Better Results in Active and Passive Funds" (Harriman House, 2022)

Oct 16, 2025

Joe Wiggins, a portfolio manager and behavioral finance expert, shares insights from his book, focusing on the complexities of fund investing. He warns against the allure of past performance and the pitfalls of investing with star managers. Wiggins discusses the importance of understanding market structures and the risks of thematic funds. He highlights the need for a long-term perspective and provides practical steps for improving investment decisions, including evaluating manager processes and avoiding overly complex strategies.

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ADVICE

Hire By Beliefs, Process, Outcomes

Evaluate active managers by their beliefs, process, and whether outcomes match those beliefs, not just past returns.
Inspect holdings and process consistency to confirm the manager repeatedly executes their stated edge.

insights

INSIGHT

Concentration Raises Both Upside And Risk

Concentration widens the range of outcomes and raises both upside potential and catastrophic risk.
Diversify across multiple concentrated funds to limit single-strategy or single-stock disaster exposure.

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ADVICE

Don't Buy What You Can't Explain

Avoid funds you cannot explain or understand, especially those using leverage, derivatives, or opaque quant models.
If you can't clearly describe why a fund might work and what risks it has, don't invest in it.

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Why fund investing is uniquely hard

01:20 • 3min

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Avoiding thematic funds and star managers

04:03 • 6min

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How to decide between active and passive allocations

09:53 • 6min

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Market structure differences: UK vs US effects

15:34 • 4min

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Selecting active managers: beliefs, process, outcomes

19:50 • 5min

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Concentration: risks and potential rewards

24:57 • 5min

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Avoiding complexity and opaque strategies

29:40 • 3min

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When to sell a fund: checklist and warning signs

32:54 • 4min

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Why smooth performance can be deceptive

37:23 • 4min

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Does private mark-to-model help investor behavior?

41:40 • 4min

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Practical behavioral fixes to reduce trading

45:18 • 8min

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The power and limits of long time horizons

53:27 • 3min

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Firm alignment and incentives for long-term investing

56:03 • 3min

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Major reasons active managers underperform

59:10 • 3min

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Recommended behavioral finance books

01:01:45 • 2min

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What the book aims to change for fund investors

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In 'Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics,' Richard H. Thaler recounts his journey in challenging traditional economic theories that assume humans are rational actors. The book chronicles the evolution of behavioral economics, a field that integrates psychology and economics to understand how people actually make decisions. Thaler discusses various behavioral concepts such as endowment effects, mental accounting, and self-control issues, using anecdotes and empirical studies to illustrate these points. The book also delves into Thaler's personal struggles and successes in establishing behavioral economics as a recognized field, including his work with institutions like the British tax collection agency and his battles with traditional economic thinking.

Investing in funds is not straightforward. We are faced with a countless range of options and constantly distracted by meaningless noise and turbulent markets. To make matters worse, our flawed beliefs and behavioural biases lead to repeated and costly mistakes, such as a damaging obsession with past performance and a dangerous attraction to thematic funds.

There is a solution―a more intelligent way to invest in funds.

In The Intelligent Fund Investor: Practical Steps for Better Results in Active and Passive Funds (Harriman House, 2022), experienced portfolio manager and behavioural finance expert Joe Wiggins brings simplicity and clarity to fund investing. Each chapter of this fascinating and highly readable book focuses on a vital element of investing in funds―exploring how and why investors can get it badly wrong, and providing direct, actionable steps for better results.

Joe reveals: why we should avoid investing with star managers; how to decide between active and passive funds; why we should beware of smooth performance and captivating stories; why risk is far more than just volatility; the importance of a long time horizon; and much, much more.

Using a combination of stories, empirical evidence and experience, Joe gives all fund investors―active and passive―what they need to reassess their beliefs, understand their biases, and make better investment decisions.

John Emrich has worked for decades years in corporate finance, business valuation and fund management. He has a podcast about the investment space called Kick the Dogma.

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