BARRA's performance analysis

A method developed by BARRA, a consulting firm in Berkeley, Calif. It is commonly used by institutional investors applying performance attribution analysis to evaluate their money managers' performance.

A method used to determine how well or poorly a money manager invests the funds entrusted to him/her. Rather than comparing a money manager to others of the same class, BARRA's performance analysis compares money managers to the market and determines whether gains or losses are attributable to systematic factors. Institutional investors commonly use this method when evaluating their employees.