"Readers may be familiar with the concept of Peak Oil, the point at which we reach the maximum rate of petroleum extraction globally. The concept is a simple one, even if identifying it in real time has proven more difficult.
"It is our contention that the investment industry may be experiencing a peak of its own, in this case the point of the maximum rate at which it extracts value from its clients’ assets. Let’s call it Peak Gravy.
"If such a peak is indeed reached and the investment industry sees its profits fall, we would regard it as unambiguously good. Such a comment may sound odd coming from a fund manager, but we have never held the wider investment industry in high regard. It seems to us that most funds’ fees are too high, most
so-called investors’ time-horizons are too short, and most firms operate with their eyes focused inwardly on their own interests rather than outwardly on their clients’."
— Tom Coutts
