, Columnist
Stock Pickers Should Be Winning. They're Not
Volatile markets supposedly give active funds an advantage over passive competition. But recent performance is damning.
It’s a head-scratcher. Why have active fund managers not thrived in volatile markets?
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Active equity investors, they tell us, are far better stewards of our savings when markets are volatile. Their underperformance compared with passive investment products in recent years, they explain, is down to ever-rising stock markets flattering the returns available from index trackers. So the recent surge in volatility, with equity prices exhibiting unprecedented short-term swings, would have been their time to shine, right?
Wrong.