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.
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
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