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.
Billions are fleeing private credit funds as returns slide and redemptions surge. Financial historian Mark Higgins warns that retail investors aren't being offered a seat at the table — they're being positioned at the end of a speculative supply chain, left to absorb risks the smart money no longer wants.
Robin Powell
Jan 2612 min read
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