Assessing fund managers: how do you tackle the 'soft factors'?

In a business based on people, how do you assess the 'soft' factors that influence the way an asset manager works?

Many of the tools available for analyzing fund managers rely on past performance so may be a poor indicator of future performance. But can analyzing the management style and corporate culture of a money manager provide more useful guidance in the manager selection process - and if so, how do you go about it?

New York based consultant Fernand Schoppig of FS Associates has spent a lot of time working on this and developed his own system for assessing soft factors. He explains his methods in this video interview with Citywire.

You can find a presentation outlining FS Associates' methodology here.