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.
On 14 July 2026 the FCA proposed the biggest overhaul of UK asset management regulation since the rules were inherited from the EU: a single remuneration code, a new fund-reporting framework and higher size thresholds, worth an estimated £128 million a year to firms. The industry welcomed it within hours. What the reforms mean for ordinary investors, and whether the savings ever reach them, is the debate that has barely begun.
TEBI
5 hours ago8 min read
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