Active Fund Managers Face Historic Underperformance Against Market Benchmarks

New S&P Dow Jones data reveals 74% of active global equity funds in New Zealand underperformed benchmarks in 2025, with 100% underperforming over a 15-year horizon.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 3:57 AM EDT

Source: RNZ Pacific

The 2025 SPIVA Scorecard Results

A new report from S&P Dow Jones Indices has confirmed a challenging year for active fund managers in New Zealand. The SPIVA scorecard, which compares actively managed funds against passive benchmarks, found that 74 percent of active global equity funds underperformed the S&P World Index in 2025. The results for domestic investments were similarly stark: 65 percent of active New Zealand equity funds failed to beat the NZX50. Bond funds, which had historically seen better relative performance, saw a significant shift, with 79 percent underperforming their benchmarks last year.

Long-Term Underperformance Trends

While a single year can be volatile, the long-term data provides a more sobering outlook for investors paying higher fees for active management. According to the report:

Global Equities: 100 percent of active funds underperformed the benchmark over 10- and 15-year periods.

Domestic Equities: 85 percent of active New Zealand equity funds underperformed over 15 years.