Reese on the Active vs. Passive Debate

In a recent interview with TheStreet.com’s Jill Malandrino, Validea CEO John Reese talked about his guru-inspired investing approach, and offered his take on the active vs. passive debate.

Reese, who picks stocks using his “Guru Strategy” computer models (each of which is inspired by a different investing great) says that he thinks passive investing is a good approach for most investors. That’s because passive investing usually involves a low-fee, repeatable approach and keeps people from trying to outguess the market. But he thinks active investing is a good approach for some people. His strategies are active in that they target fundamentally sound stocks, but are systematic and repeatable like passive funds, he notes. Reese looks at three stocks his strategies are high on right now. Among them: Polaris Industries, which gets high marks from his Warren Buffett-inspired model.

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