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Cliff Asness

Cofounder, AQR Capital

Search every verified Cliff Asness interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Cliff Asness, cofounder of AQR Capital Management, discussed the firm's early struggles and the 2007 quant crisis in a September 2018 appearance. He described launching AQR's first fund in August 1998 during the Russian debt crisis and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, followed by the technology bubble, which he called a difficult environment for value investing. Asness attributed the 2007 crisis to too many funds taking similar positions simultaneously, noting that he felt confident about AQR's survival until a phone call from Ken Griffin made him question the situation. In a September 2026 conversation with Allison Schrager at the Manhattan Institute, Asness commented on risk perception in investing and retirement policy. He criticized what he called the "risk delusion," the idea that investors can beat the market without taking on additional risk, citing private equity and the Madoff case as examples. On Social Security, he expressed frustration with the debate, arguing that eliminating the earnings cap would constitute a major tax increase and suggesting the need for targeted benefit cuts and progressive tax increases.

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I think we have to be thoughtful. I'm sort of frustrated studying retirement as long as I have where the social security conversation is going. Which is everyone's like we'll never have to cut benefits, alls we have to do is get rid of the cap on earnings which I'm always like why is the largest marginal tax increase in peacetime history not a big deal? So I think we just as I said have to think more carefully about ”

“The risk delusion. It is a very seductive idea that comes up in finance again and again. I think your crusade against private equity is a great example. But that's part of the delusion is that you can beat the market and get a higher return without taking on risk. People want to be sold that. It's like a lot of really smart, knowledgeable people invested in Madoff and they're like, 'Oh, he can beat the market and I'l”

“I wouldn't short Bitcoin with my worst enemy's portfolio, but I think most of the probability is that it eventually goes to zero.”

“I think a tremendous amount of the private world is charging massive alpha fees for beta. I won't mince words about that.”

“The whole world can't do it if every single one of us tries to be passive; you can think of passive investors as free riding on active investors who are keeping prices somewhere in the direction of reasonable.”

“I'm fairly convinced there are a lot of — I'll use the term 'investors' but there should be air quotes around this — who can't distinguish FanDuel from Robinhood.”

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