What percentage of hedge fund managers beat the S&P 500?
And the percentage of active managers who do beat the market is usually pretty small – fewer than 8% in most of the cases above over the last 15 years; and they may not sustain that performance in the future.
Less than 10% of active large-cap fund managers have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 15 years. The biggest drag on investment returns is unavoidable, but you can minimize it if you're smart. Here's what to look for when choosing a simple investment that can beat the Wall Street pros.
Data from an article by The American Enterprise Institute charted the average hedge fund's performance from 2011 to 2020. Over that stretch, the typical hedge fund underperformed the S&P 500 every single year. Again, there will be an occasional manager who outperforms, but rarely does it last long.
Index schemes are supposed to offer returns similar to the index they are investing in. What should investors do when they fail to do their job? A recent ETMutualFunds study of active large cap funds revealed that 80% schemes managed to beat their benchmarks.
Research: 89% of fund managers fail to beat the market
According to this report, 88.99% of large-cap US funds have underperformed the S&P500 index over ten years.
For large cap stocks, there are funds that have beaten S&P500 consistently for over 40-50 years. Fidelity's Contrafund has beaten the market since inception in the 60s. Fidelity growth company and blue chip growth since the 80s. American century's large cap funds (TWCIX, TWCGX, TWCUX) since 70s.
Since Buffett took over as CEO in 1965, Berkshire's stock has outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 index (including dividends) by a factor of 153 times.
Key results: Last year's Top 50 funds (based on trailing five-year returns through 2021) proved their value by having outperformed the S&P 500 in 2022 by nearly 24 percentage points.
Goldman, which has helped launch and finance thousands of hedge funds, said almost all newcomers survive their first year but that only 62% of all funds remain in business after five years.
Citadel led its peers with a 15.3% gain last year, but the S&P 500 notched a total return of 26.3%. The first month of 2024 is in the books, and $56 billion Citadel is once again outperforming with a 1.9% gain in its flagship Wellington fund in January, according to people familiar with the results.
What percentage of actively managed funds beat index funds?
Although it is very difficult, the market can be beaten. Every year, some managers boast better numbers than the market indices. A small fraction even manages to do so over a longer period. Over the horizon of the last 20 years, less than 10% of U.S. actively managed funds have beaten the market.
Using the Big Three as shorthand for BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors obscures differences and creates misunderstandings about the market. Investors and academics have often referred to BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors as the Big Three asset managers.
- Citadel.
- Bridgewater Associates.
- AQR Capital Management.
- D.E. Shaw.
- Renaissance Technologies.
- Two Sigma Investments.
- Elliott Investment Management.
- Farallon Capital Management.
Just 3 of the "Magnificent Seven" Have Outperformed the S&P 500 Since 2022. Here's the One I'd Buy for 2024 and 2025. The S&P 500 has produced a total return of over 20% for investors in 2023, but that growth has come almost entirely from just a handful of stocks.
Putting Your Money in the S&P 500 Will Make You More Money
Simply putting all of your money into the S&P 500 index ETF, SPY, and forgetting about it will almost always yield higher returns than paying a financial advisor for advice. The S&P 500 beats most financial advisor portfolios most of the time.
Yes, you may be able to beat the market, but with investment fees, taxes, and human emotion working against you, you're more likely to do so through luck than skill. If you can merely match the S&P 500, minus a small fee, you'll be doing better than most investors.
Fund | 2023 performance (%) | 5yr performance (%) |
---|---|---|
MS INVF US Insight | 52.26 | 34.65 |
Sands Capital US Select Growth Fund | 51.3 | 76.97 |
Natixis Loomis Sayles US Growth Equity | 49.56 | 111.67 |
T. Rowe Price US Blue Chip Equity | 49.54 | 81.57 |
The one time it's okay to choose a single investment
That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.
Index funds typically have lower costs and fees compared to actively managed mutual funds. This stems from their passive management style involving less frequent trading and lower administrative expenses.
The shares are up an annualized 12% in the last 10 years, slightly behind the 12.2% yearly total return, including dividends, for the index. Berkshire also is behind the S&P 500 over the past five years with a 13.4% annualized return, compared with 16.4% for the index., according to Bloomberg calculations.
Who got kicked out of S&P 500?
As of the end of August, seven S&P 500 companies sported market values of $6 billion or less. And two of them were just removed Newell Brands (NWL) and Lincoln National (LNC). Some companies, too, are removed after being bought like Abiomed (ABMD) was in 2022.
There are 11 sectors in the S&P 500. Yet only one sector, technology, has gained more than 85% over the last five years.
Median | ||
---|---|---|
Hedge Fund Manager | Salary | US$ 200,000 |
Bonus | US$ 1,000,000 | |
Total | US$ 1,300,000 |
There are two basic reasons for investing in a hedge fund: to seek higher net returns (net of management and performance fees) and/or to seek diversification.
Fund Manager | 3-Year Performance MW | Turnover |
---|---|---|
Goldentree Asset Management Steve Tananbaum | 115.27% (29.12% Ann.) | 36.67% |
Lodge Hill Capital Clinton Murray | 112.43% (28.55% Ann.) | 45.16% |
RR Advisors Robert Raymond | 110.55% (28.17% Ann.) | 4.76% |
Elm Ridge Management Ron Gutfleish | 107.41% (27.53% Ann.) | 0.00% |
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