Albert Einstein thought that a person who hadn't made a great contribution to science before hitting 30 was unlikely to do so. The same harsh law seems to apply to trading floors: one London-based hedge fund that monitors these things closely says the most successful ideas consistently come from traders in their late twenties. Was Société Générale's real problem not that Jérôme Kerviel was accumulating rotten positions, but that at 31, he was over the hill?

Traders below 30 are old enough to have some experience, but young enough for fresh ideas - and the arrogance to pursue them. Mostly unmarried, and without dependants, they are more concerned with making capital than preserving it. Bets will, of course, go awry: Nick Leeson was 28 when he kneecapped Barings. But hunger and intensity is more often than not rewarded. Data from Hedge Fund Research show that newer funds - generally stuffed with young traders and managers - tend to outperform funds in their later years, with the greatest out-performance in the first 12 months.