What aspect of portfolio management is addressed by performance and attribution analysis?

Performance and attribution analysis plays a critical role in portfolio management by specifically focusing on understanding the manager's impact on portfolio returns. This analysis helps in assessing how much of the investment performance can be attributed to the choices made by the portfolio manager, such as asset allocation decisions, sector weighting, and individual security selection.

Through performance analysis, one can measure the overall return of the portfolio over a specific period. However, attribution analysis goes a step further by breaking down these returns to determine the contribution of various factors, including market movements and the manager's active decisions. This provides valuable insights into whether the returns are a result of skillful decision-making or simply due to market trends.

In contrast, market volatility assessment pertains to measuring the fluctuations in market prices, while investor risk tolerance evaluation focuses on understanding the acceptable levels of risk for an individual investor. Stock picking strategies relate to the selection process of individual stocks but do not directly analyze the effectiveness or impact of the overall portfolio management decisions. Therefore, the most fitting aspect addressed by performance and attribution analysis is the evaluation of the manager's influence on the portfolio's returns.