The case for passive investment has gotten plenty of support in recent years, as stock index funds have outperformed their actively managed brethren. But the opposite is true in fixed income. Actively managed open-end bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have done better than merely following an index. They generated superior returns compared with passive funds during the one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods through Dec. 31, according to Morningstar data.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 04, 2019 03:00 UTC