Chasing Alpha: SPIVA 2025, Active vs Passive Investing, and Why Most Managers Underperform

In this episode of the Global Thinking Podcast, host Rob Duncan sits down with Dr. Joe Nelesen from S&P Dow Jones Indices to break down the SPIVA Canada 2025 report and what it reveals about active vs passive investing. The data is clear. Most active managers underperform their benchmarks — not just in 2025, but over longer time horizons. This raises a critical question for investors and advisors alike. Is it still worth chasing alpha? Rob and Joe explore: Why active managers consistently struggle to beat the market The role of fees, market efficiency, and survivorship bias Where active investing may still have an edge The continued rise of ETFs and index investing How AI, tokenization, and evolving market structure could shape the future   Whether you are a portfolio manager, financial advisor, or individual investor, this episode provides a data-driven look at one of the most important debates in investing today. If you are building portfolios in today's market, understanding the trade-offs between active and passive investing has never been more important.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Global Thinking Podcast 02:31 Understanding the SPIVA Report Card 04:35 Performance of Active Managers in 2025 09:00 Factors Leading to Underperformance 13:11 The Role of Fees and Market Dynamics 17:40 Survivorship Bias in Active Management 19:44 The Future of Active Management 24:34 Active vs. Passive Investment Strategies 28:56 The Impact of Fund Selection 29:21 The Rise of Index Investing 30:43 Passive vs Active Investing Dynamics 32:23 Tokenization and Market Evolution 33:18 Future of Market Hours 35:07 The Future of Active vs Index Investing 37:58 AI's Role in Investment Strategies 41:54 Insights on Indices and Reading Recommendations   Disclosures: https://forstrong.com/disclosures/    Global Thinking Podcast Series - https://forstrong.com/podcast/    Global Thinking Insights - https://forstrong.com/insights/    Who is Forstrong Global - https://forstrong.com/who-we-are/    Ask Forstrong - https://forstrong.com/category/ask-forstrong/    Invest With Us - https://forstrong.com/invest-with-us/     Thank for you listening, please considering leaving a review and subscribing for future episodes.   For any questions, comments or suggested topics please reach out to Rob Duncan, [email protected]