Is passive investing growing?
Unsurprisingly, the relatively low-cost passive investing option is becoming increasingly popular. Passive equity funds have grown from 15% of investment fund assets in 2007 to 30% of total fund assets in 2017 in the EU, and passive funds now control 43% of total equity fund assets in the US (Sushko and Turner (2018)).
Passive investment is less expensive, less complex, and often produces superior after-tax results over medium to long time horizons when compared to actively managed portfolios.
Sometimes, a passive fund may beat the market by a little, but it will never post the significant returns active managers crave unless the market itself booms. Reliance on others: Because passive investors generally rely on fund managers to make decisions, they don't specifically get to say in what they're invested in.
Active versus passive funds
Critics of passive investing say funds that simply track an index will always underperform the market when costs are taken into account. In contrast, active managers can potentially deliver market-beating returns by carefully choosing the stocks they hold.
The low fees, transparency, tax efficiency, and buy-and-hold nature of passive funds deeply align with the goals of most long-term investors. These advantages allow more investor capital to work toward building returns rather than being eroded by costs over decades.
We estimate that passive investors held at least 37.8% of the US stock market in 2020. This estimate is based on the closing volumes of index additions and deletions on reconstitution days. 37.8% is more than double the widely accepted previous value of 15%, which represents the combined holdings of all index funds.
- Pros of Passive Investments. •Likely to perform close to index. •Generally lower fees. ...
- Cons of Passive Investments. •Unlikely to outperform index. ...
- Pros of Active Investments. •Opportunity to outperform index. ...
- Cons of Active Investments. •Potential to underperform index.
Advantages of passive investing
Index funds are commonly used in passive investing strategies since they are generally low-cost and low-risk. Index funds are inherently diverse and are designed to track a certain area or broader sector of the market, such as emerging markets, large caps, or technology companies.
While passively-managed index funds only constituted 21 percent of the total assets managed by investment companies in the the United States in 2012, this share had increased to 45 percent by 2022.
- Dividend stocks. ...
- REITs/real estate. ...
- Index funds. ...
- Bonds and bond funds. ...
- High-yield savings accounts and CDs. ...
- Peer-to-peer lending.
What is the simplest passive investing strategy?
Dividend stocks are one of the simplest ways for investors to create passive income. As public companies generate profits, a portion of those earnings are siphoned off and funneled back to investors in the form of dividends. Investors can decide to pocket the cash or reinvest the money in additional shares.
We estimate that passive investors held at least 37.8% of the US stock market in 2020. This estimate is based on the closing volumes of index additions and deletions on reconstitution days. 37.8% is more than double the widely accepted previous value of 15%, which represents the combined holdings of all index funds.

Passive funds tend to have lower expense ratios compared to actively managed funds. This is because they require less research, trading, and management, resulting in lower costs. “Over time, these cost savings can compound and make a significant difference in an investor's total returns," said Sonam.
While some passive investors like to pick funds themselves, many choose automated robo-advisors to build and manage their portfolios. These online advisors typically use low-cost ETFs to keep expenses down, and they make investing as easy as transferring money to your robo-advisor account.
We start by focusing on the “Big Three” fund families, Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. These fund families hold a very large percentage of most public firms, and they are generally regarded as passive and deferential to firm management [CITE].
Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home. The ARV of a property is the amount a home could sell for after flippers renovate it.
The downside of passive investing is there is no intention to outperform the market. The fund's performance should match the index, whether it rises or falls.
- Risk of Loss. There's no guarantee you'll earn a positive return in the stock market. ...
- The Allure of Big Returns Can Be Tempting. ...
- Gains Are Taxed. ...
- It Can Be Hard to Cut Your Losses.
1) upfront Investment: Setting up passive income frequently needs an upfront time or financial investment, such as buying stocks or real estate. 2) Unpredictability: Because it may change depending on variables like market circumstances, interest rates, or property prices, passive income can be unpredictable.
Money market accounts, certificates of deposit, cash management accounts and high yield savings accounts all carry FDIC insurance. Treasury bills, notes and bonds are backed by the U.S. government, making them another low-risk investment option.
What are the disadvantages of passive portfolio management?
Passive portfolio management strategies typically follow pre-defined rules, such as tracking a particular index or asset class. This lack of flexibility can be a disadvantage if the market conditions change or if the investor's goals or risk tolerance change.
What are passive funds? Passive mutual funds are funds which replicate a market index like the Nifty or Sensex. These funds invest in the constituents of the selected market index in the same proportion as they are present in the index.
While passively-managed index funds only constituted 21 percent of the total assets managed by investment companies in the the United States in 2012, this share had increased to 45 percent by 2022.
Passive management is often seen as a low cost, low governance way to invest. While this may be true in a narrow sense, we think it would be a mistake to believe that it is a low risk route to success or that it offers a 'set-and-forget' approach.
It's hard to be sure how much of the global stock market is held passively, but the best estimates on the US put it at not far off of 40%, and lower but rising elsewhere. This makes a lot of sense. Passive money management is an almost perfect business model.