A comprehensive grouping of investment managers with similar mandates and investment objectives, used as a benchmark to measure a money manager's performance. The size of the fund or money management firm, in terms of assets under management, is another consideration in creating a relevant comparison universe. The best money managers generally figure in the top quartile of their comparison universe on a consistent basis.
MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">One criticism of using a comparison universe to measure how well a manager is doing, is that the defined parameters may be too broad to be an effective gauge of performance. Another drawback is that a comparison universe may set an unrealistically high benchmark for investment performance, by excluding poorly-performing managers who are no longer in business, or whose assets have been merged with those of another manager. This is called survivorship bias.