Active, passive or hybrid?

FUND LABELS

Deng Xiaoping once claimed that it didn't matter if a cat was black or white as long as it caught mice it was a good cat.

To some extent the debate about passive and active funds has descended into polemical rhetoric reminiscent of the struggles between communism and capitalism.  Opinions have become so entrenched that some advocates of one type refuse to consider using a member of the rival group. Moreover, the gap between the two groups is becoming harder to define as funds in both cohorts evolve to adjust to the new realities of the market place. Some active managers are cutting fees to compete with passive funds and some passive funds are not that passive. In a changing world the old labels are no longe...