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Most of you will already be aware of the scandal surrounding Francisco Garc\u00eda Param\u00e9s\u2019 departure from the investment management firm Bestinver. Let\u2019s just say that the Entrecanales family, owners of the fund management firm, and through their brand-new director Luis Rivera, have provided the perfect example of how to ruin Spain\u2019s best fund management firm and a manager who is a European benchmark in the world of value investing in one fell swoop. Furthermore, it is not only personal relationships that have led Param\u00e9s to set up his own future fund management company, but also his two right-hand men: \u00c1lvaro Guzm\u00e1n and Fernando Bernad, who they have just announced<\/a> who will remain at Bestinver only until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. After all, it would be a real shame not to know how to look after, cherish and retain the \u00abEuropean Warren Buffett\u00bb in your company, working alongside him and his team for as long as necessary.<\/p>\n The most paradoxical thing about this saga is that Bestinver may well cease to be a money-making machine for its investors, only to become one for its owners. In other words, the Entrecanales may well earn more money in the medium to long term by prostituting their management firm than they do today (which was already a great deal). The fact is that Bestinver could face a situation similar to that of Carmignac, namely a gradual decline in the quality and returns of its management (in this case due to the de facto retirement of Monsieur Edouard Carmignac), in favour of a substantial increase in sales volume via lucrative commission payments to distributors (banks), and by capitalising on very strong historical returns. In Bestinver\u2019s case, those brilliant historical returns will mask the mediocrity of future capital gains for a few years, gradually diluting their brilliance whilst the banks flood \u00abBestinver\u00bb portfolios left, \u2014above all\u2014left, naturally in exchange for hefty commissions that, until now, Param\u00e9s had refused to pay.<\/p>\n Since the damage has already been done and the decision is irreversible, any sensible investor should cross their fingers and pray to the \u00abVirgin of Alpha\u00bb that Param\u00e9s and his team will register their new funds for sale in Spain in the future, but it remains to be seen whether and when that will happen. Therefore, what should concern Bestinver\u2019s investors \u2013 or rather, former investors \u2013 is not whether the Entrecanales will make more or less money under the new \u2018star\u2019 director Rivera, who will have the dishonour of having driven Spain\u2019s best fund manager away from the company he chairs (congratulations, mate). The concern should be finding a fund alternative that is just as good, or better, for their investments in the Spanish or international stock markets. And in the world of funds marketed in Spain, that is by no means an easy task, especially for those focused on international markets.\u00a0By this we do not mean that it is dangerous to remain invested in this fund manager\u2019s funds for a few months, or that it is a matter of urgency to withdraw your money from them. Simply that you must start looking now for alternatives that are as good as possible, because Bestinver will no longer perform as well or as profitably in the future without its alma mater<\/em>\u00a0three-headed.<\/p>\n