Passive trumps active in latest Morningstar Barometer

Active funds have struggled to outperform

Active funds outperformed their average passive peer in just five of the 54 Morningstar equity categories, the latest European Active/Passive Barometer has shown.

The semi-annual study, that measures the performance of Europe-domiciled active funds against passive peers in their respective Morningstar categories, found the long-term success rates of European active funds was low. Over the 10 years to June 2021, the success rates of active funds were less than 25% in nearly two thirds of the categories analysed. Furthermore, less than a fifth of fixed income, allocation and property funds have been able to outsmart their passive peers in 23 categories over the past decade. Passive also came out on top for single country funds, although the re...