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.
A poll asked Britons to choose between £50,000 for certain or a coin flip for £1 million. Nearly three quarters took the sure thing. Expected value says they were wrong. Rationality says they might be right. The real insight lies in what the choice reveals about risk — and how to make the right decisions when it matters most.
Robin Powell
1 day ago7 min read
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