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0 pointsURSpider9410y ago0 comments

And yet, the index itself (not even the funds) reliably beats the overwhelming majority of active traders over almost any time window you care to look at.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

maaku10y ago· 2 in thread

The majority, sure, but not all. Look at since-inception charts of POGRX, VHT, and BRK.B for example.

Tideflat10y ago

However, for a lazy or casual investor discovering the difference between the good managers and the lucky managers is very hard.

maaku10y ago

Eh, just compare the active fund against the S&P 500 on a suitably long enough horizon:

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSEARCA%3ASPY%2C+NYSEARCA%...

I'll admit it's looking for a needle in haystack though. In all my looking I've only found these three. Really just VHT and POGRX, since the success of BRK (Warren Buffett's company) is common knowledge.

yxhuvud10y ago

That is typically due to low fees though, and not something that is inherently due to it being an index.

Hint: The people constructing the index are doing as much of an active choice of stocks as the active traders are. Nothing stops a trader from selecting stocks following the same strategies as how an index is selected.

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