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What if the key to winning the markets was to not win at all? : Planet Money Is the key to success in financial markets a matter of luck or skill? One former bond manager shares his strategy: Win big by avoiding winning. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

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Investing in mediocrity

Investing in mediocrity

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This photograph taken in Forges-les-Eaux, Normandy, on January 10, 2022 shows a slot machine at the 'Domaine de Forges' Partouche group's casino. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images
This photograph taken in Forges-les-Eaux, Normandy, on January 10, 2022 shows a slot machine at the &#039;Domaine de Forges&#039; Partouche group&#039;s casino. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

In the world of finance, there's one eternal question: Is success in financial markets a matter of chance or skill? Today on the show, we talk to two investors who have their own answers.

First, a former bond manager tells us his secret for winning big was to simply not win at all, a strategy he calls "strategic mediocrity." Then, two researchers build a fake bond portfolio to break down the strategies of investing legend Bill Gross. Did Bill Gross's fund do well because of skill and if so, what did that skill look like?

Music: "All Along," "You Really Want Me," and "corals."

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