S&P report: UK active funds struggle to beat benchmark over long term

73% trail benchmark over 10 years

A large proportion of active UK equity funds fail to beat their benchmarks over long time periods, despite strong one-year numbers, according to a report from S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The latest S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Scorecard report for Europe released by S&P Dow Jones Indices includes 10-year performance numbers for active equity funds versus their benchmarks for the first time. The report revealed 82% of active UK equity funds outperformed the S&P UK BMI benchmark over one year, but over five and 10 years 52% and 73% trailed their benchmarks, respectively. UK equity fund performance was dominated by large- and mid-cap managers, with 92% of actively managed funds beating the S&P UK LargeMidCap index over one year, although this figure dropped co...