Wai Lee, chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman's Quantitative Investment Group, has received the Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for Best Article of the Year from The Journal of Portfolio Management.

Lee's article, "Risk-Based Asset Allocation: A New Answer to an Old Question?" provides a critical examination of portfolio construction approaches that focus on risk and diversification characteristics, rather than expected return.

The piece was selected by readers based on research excellence in the theory and practice of portfolio management; it continues to be the most downloaded research article of all time on the Journal's website. It beat 53 other submissions published in the Journal over the second half of last year.

Investment banks and asset managers are increasingly aware of the intellectual capital locked up in academic institutions, and are looking for ways to tap that, and to encourage their own staff to match academic activity.

"At our core, Neuberger Berman is about research, intellectual rigor and original thought-typically manifested in investment decisions and advice. This concept is made very clear in Wai's exceptional work," said George Walker, chief executive officer at Neuberger Berman.

The synopsis of the paper, and its concluding remarks, follows.