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The Terry Smith timing trap: why most investors lost money
Terry Smith's Fundsmith beat the market for a decade, then trailed four straight years. £3.31bn fled in 2024. Most investors lost money vs a tracker. Why? Timing. They bought high after stellar returns, sold low during underperformance. Jack Bogle's iron law: money arrives after gains, leaves during losses. Even star managers can't beat that.
Robin Powell
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Cathie Wood calls indexing 'a form of socialism'. Has she lost the plot?
When Cathie Wood declared index funds "a form of socialism", she joined decades of active managers attacking passive investing on ideological grounds. But proxy voting data reveals something awkward: ARK voted with management 99.2% of the time versus Vanguard's 98.5%. We examine the evidence on index fund governance, ARK's performance record, and why "passive investing destroys capitalism" rhetoric intensifies when active managers underperform.
Robin Powell
Oct 2910 min read


"Worse than a casino": why a top active fund manager recommends index funds instead
Stephen Yiu's fund returned 101% in three years. His advice to investors? Buy an index tracker instead—your odds of picking a winning active fund are "worse than a casino." Academic research reveals why even successful managers keep their own money in index funds. Here's how to escape the active management trap.
TEBI
Oct 510 min read


Explanation-based investing: a better name than passive?
In this guest post, William Morris introduces the idea of explanation-based investing as a fresh alternative to the often-misunderstood term “passive investing.” He argues that what investors really need isn’t to be active or passive, but to understand the reasoning behind their choices. Clear explanations, grounded in evidence, can help people make better decisions and achieve stronger long-term outcomes.
Robin Powell
Sep 175 min read


Index concentration: why the Mag7 'problem' strengthens the case for indexing
The S&P 500's concentration in the Magnificent Seven has critics worried about indexing risk. But Hendrik Bessembinder's research reveals why index concentration actually strengthens the case for passive investing: just 4% of stocks drive all market returns, and active managers consistently miss these winners. Historical data shows market concentration has been normal for 150 years, from railroads to tech giants.
Robin Powell
Sep 98 min read
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