Deep Dive #6: Are active fund managers a dying breed?
The battle between active and passive managers has been going in earnest for over a decade now, and the passive machines are winning. In this Deep Dive, Laith Khalaf and Dan Coatsworth explore the active and passive fund landscape, and ask if there is a way back for active fund managers.
Dan and Laith discuss why passive funds have become so popular and share some stats on fund flows and figures from AJ Bell’s Manager versus Machine report, which pits active and passive funds against each other. [01:01]
Laith catches up with Craig Baker who chairs the investment committee for Alliance Witan, one of the biggest investment trusts in the UK, to find out why they have chosen a distinctive active investment strategy and how it’s been performing. [22:28]
Paul Angel, Head of Investment Research at AJ Bell joins Dan and Laith to talk about how to pick active and passive funds. [34:05]
Paul, Dan and Laith discuss whether the rise of passive funds is bad for the stockmarket and consider the future of active management. [48:17]
Latest podcasts:
More turmoil for BP as new chairman is ousted
Less than a year after joining as BP Chairman Albert Manifold has been removed from the company. What does it mean for BP’s turnaround plans is the question... Read more
Money & Markets Podcast | Fri, 29/05/2026 - 09:18
The £131m cost of the M&S cyber attack
Cyber shocks, political ripples and pop-powered spending – it’s another packed week on the AJ Bell Money & Markets podcast. Charlene Young and Danni... Read more
Money & Markets Podcast | Thu, 21/05/2026 - 15:01
From gold to handbags – what are alternative investments?
On this week’s episode of the AJ Bell Money Matters podcast Danni is joined by a new member of the team Eve Maddock-Jones to dig into alternative... Read more
Money Matters Podcast | Thu, 21/05/2026 - 09:09