Janus Henderson's Watson's frustration over active US managers

Managers need to take more risk

Janus Henderson Investors' Nick Watson has lamented the paucity of active fund managers able to beat the US stockmarket, as he urged the industry to "take more risk" in order to remain relevant in the face of pressure from cheaper, passive rivals.

Active fund managers have fallen behind passive offerings over the past decade, with the chorus of passive advocates, which includes the like of Warren Buffett, increasingly vocal. A continued outperformance of the big tech names that dominate most global benchmarks has served to leave most stockpickers in the dust in recent years, with the Covid-19 pandemic only serving to exacerbate that trend, rather than, as many had hoped, giving active management the chance to prove its mettle. UK economy pays 'spectacular' price for slow lockdown "This should be an environment that should be...