# Historical Background Harry Markowitz introduced MPT in his seminal paper, "Portfolio Selection," published in the Journal of Finance. He argued that investors could achieve optimal portfolios by balancing risk and return, considering the correlation between asset performances. In 1990, Markowitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions. Before MPT, investment strategies often focused on selecting individual securities. Markowitz's theory shifted the focus to portfolio-level optimization, emphasizing diversification to minimize risk. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.dtf.fun/explainer-modern-portfolio-theory-mpt/historical-background.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.