“It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes,” the Sage of Omaha once said. Unfortunately, the investment management industry is ignoring Warren Buffett’s advice.

Probably the biggest collective mistake the industry has made over the past decade is not taking seriously the risk of a devastating global pandemic. The outbreak of Covid-19 triggered a 30% fall in global share prices in a month and many big companies’ shares are still trading at less than half their pre‑pandemic levels.