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.
Speaking on Morningstar's The Long View podcast in May 2025, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig offered sobering advice for investors grappling with unprecedented market uncertainty. As global markets wrestle with President Trump's sweeping tariff policies, Zweig warned: "We don't know that fundamental rules haven't changed...but that's an awful lot of things to be right about" when making dramatic portfolio changes. Zweig's commentary comes as he prepares the latest e
TEBI
Jun 2, 20256 min read
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