The Morningstar US Active/Passive Barometer for 2024 provides insightful data on how active funds have been performing compared to their passive counterparts. Over the past decade, active funds have faced challenges, marked by consistent outflows and difficulty in outperforming passive funds. However, the total assets in US passive mutual funds and ETFs exceeded those of active funds for the first time.

Despite these trends, active management is far from obsolete. Active managers have managed to compensate for outflows through strategies like asset appreciation and fee bases during lucrative market conditions. Yet, the changing market environment could pose challenges.

Key Findings from the Morningstar US Active/Passive Barometer:

• Success Rates: In 2024, active small-cap managers had a higher success rate (43%) compared to mid-cap (37%) and large-cap (37%) managers. However, over the last decade, only 7% of active large-cap funds survived and outperformed their passive counterparts.


• Challenges in Large-Cap Equity: Only 7% of active US large-cap funds managed to survive and outperform passive competitors over the past decade. However, there was an improvement in their performance in 2024, with a success rate increase to 37%.


• Success in Small-Cap Categories: Active small-cap funds performed better over the long term, with a 43% success rate in 2024, suggesting that the market is less efficiently priced in this category.


• Real Estate and Fixed Income: Actively managed US real estate funds displayed the highest success rate among all categories with 47% succeeding over the past decade. In fixed income, active bond managers saw increased success rates in 2024, particularly in intermediate core bonds, corporate bonds, and high-yield bonds.

Active management remains a viable option for certain categories, notably in real estate and fixed income markets. The Morningstar report provides a comprehensive analysis that aids financial advisors in understanding the dynamics of active versus passive fund performance.

The original article on Morningstar discusses these findings in detail, highlighting the importance of the Active/Passive Barometer as a tool for evaluating investment strategies, offering insights into fees, market dynamics, and success rates across various fund categories.