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.
The second edition of the award-winning How to Fund the Life You Want is published today. Most personal finance books are designed to be read. This one was designed to be used. Robin Powell explains why the best investing book for UK readers in 2026 doesn't just explain investing – it asks the reader to do something about it, with a free workbook, six rules and a foreword from the Financial Times' Consumer Editor Claer Barrett.
Robin Powell
May 147 min read
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