An insightful interview with one of the strongest proponents of the Downside Risk measurement.  Dave Spaulding probes some of the "realities" of performance measurement, stressing a comparison based on Frank Sortino's theory using the minimal acceptable return instead of a market benchmark.  "If...the crucial element in any performance measure is that it include the return you must earn in order to accomplish your goal."  Sortino considers this the Yes measure of investment success for the individual investor.

Frank A. Sortino Ph.D. is Director of the Pension Research Institute in San Francisco where he has conducted projects with such firms as: Royal Dutch Shell and Aegon Insurance in the Netherlands, Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. of Toronto, The California State Teachers Retirement System, The Marin County Employees Retirement System, Mobius Group and LCG Associates.  Before returning to academia for graduate work, he spent twelve years in the investment business, where he became senior V.P. of an investment advisory firm with $1.6 billion under management.  Dr. Sortino received his M.B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Oregon.  He is professor emeritus at San Francisco State University and has published numerous articles on the subject of downside professor emeritus at San Francisco State University and has published numberous articles on the subject of downside risk.  He has spoken at conferences across the United States, and many cities in Europe, South Africa and the Pacific Basin.  Dr. Sortino currently serves on the advisory board of TeamVest, an internet provider of financial services.  The research ideas presented here will soon be provided to 401K investors by TeamVest in cooperation with PRI.

Journal Interview- Frank Sortino, Ph.D., Pension Research Institute.