Roxanne Martino is quite clear about what differentiates Aurora Investment Management from other fund of funds groups. It is that the three senior people at the firm make all the critical investment decisions. This would not be surprising at a small organisation, but Chicago-based Aurora runs nearly $10 billion and employs 90 people.

Roxanne Martino

Martino is president and chief executive officer of Aurora. She and her fellow portfolio managers - Scott Schweighauser, who is chief investment officer, and Justin Sheperd - have worked together as a team for 14 years. The three are generalists, not strategy specialists, a fact that Martino also considers crucial in giving Aurora an edge over the competition.

It works because none of the three is biased towards a particular strategy, so no-one feels the need to protect their turf when picking managers or changing allocations. "I believe our willingness to shift among strategies over the last...