Cliff Asness: ‘The Problem Was Never Beta. The Problem Was Paying Alpha Fees for Beta’

Today on the podcast we welcome back Cliff Asness. Cliff is the founder, managing principal, and chief investment officer at AQR Capital Management. Cliff writes often about investing and financial matters on AQR’s website and has been a prolific researcher throughout his career, with his contributions appearing in many of the leading scholarly journals, including the Journal of Portfolio Management, Financial Analyst’s Journal, the Journal of Finance, and the Journal of Financial Economics. Before co-founding AQR, Cliff was a managing director and director of quantitative research for the asset management division of Goldman Sachs. Cliff Asness, welcome back to The Long View.Background Bio @CliffordAsness “Cliff Asness: Value Stocks Still Look Like a Bargain,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, May 31, 2022.Macro Forecast, Market-Timing, and Equities “2035: An Allocator Looks Back Over the Last 10 Years,” by Cliff Asness, aqr.com, Jan. 2, 2025. “(So) What If You Miss the Market’s N Best Days?” by Cliff Asness, aqr.com, June 5, 2025. “Why Not 100% Equities,” by Cliff Asness, aqr.com, Feb. 12, 2024. “Exceptional Expectations: US vs. Non-US Equities,” by Antti Ilmanen and Thomas Maloney, aqr.com, Q2 2025.Alternative Assets and Artificial Intelligence “In Praise of High-Volatility Alternatives,” by Cliff Asness, aqr.com, Sept. 4. 2024. “Should Hedge Funds Hedge?: Why Some Alts Should Have a Beta of 1.0,” by Cliff Asness, aqr.com, March 28, 2025. “We Have ‘Surrendered More to the Machines,’ Says Quant Fund Titan Cliff Asness,” by Costas Mourselas and Amelia Pollard, ft.com, June 3, 2025. “CIO Perspectives: An Interview With Cliff Asness,” aqr.com, Sept. 1, 2024.Other WisdomTree “AQR Launches the AQR Fusion Mutual Fund Series,” AQR Funds News, aqr.com, June 25, 2025. Asian Financial Crisis