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Why active funds underperform even when the manager picks well
The managers running the biggest active funds picked stocks that beat the market in 2025 — and most still lagged their benchmark. A Morningstar do-nothing experiment and a body of academic research explain why active funds underperform even when the picking is good: skilled buying undone by poor selling, the hidden cost of trading, and the incentives that keep managers churning. The UK evidence points the same way.
Robin Powell
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AI can predict 71% of what your fund manager does
Most fund manager AI systems operate on autopilot, closely tracking the index while charging premium fees for active management. If your portfolio is essentially running itself, why are you paying someone to sit in the cockpit?
Robin Powell
Apr 209 min read
Should stock-picking columns be regulated?
Sunday Times columnist Ian Cowie's Apple ten-bagger makes a great story, but is it evidence that stock picking works? His own readers want benchmark comparisons — and the data is firmly on their side.
Robin Powell
Feb 24 min read
Is it ever a stock-picker's market?
The so-called stock-picker’s market is a myth that fund managers use to justify their fees, whatever the market does. Decades of data show that even when conditions should favour active managers, most still underperform. The evidence is clear: simplicity, not stock-picking, wins in the long run.
Robin Powell
Oct 23, 20259 min read
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