Portfolio optimization is often a poorly understood tool for portfolio construction, and therefore an underutilized one. We believe that reframing portfolio optimization as a lens to better understand the drivers of portfolio construction can make it a valuable tool for portfolio managers and asset allocators. The key concept to spur greater use of optimization is a reframing of the role that optimization plays in portfolio construction – from being the arbiter of asset or manager allocation to being a lens through which to evaluate the investor's assumptions, constraints and objectives.