S&P Dow Jones Indices defends SPIVA performance reports amid criticism

S&P Dow Jones Indices is facing criticism regarding its SPIVA (S&P Indices Versus Active) performance reports. Aurellan Asset Management has raised concerns of ‘index-washing,’ arguing that the analyses use inappropriate benchmarks and polluted samples to produce misleading results. Aurellan contends that comparing a broad collection of funds against a single index does not provide meaningful insight into whether managers have collectively over or underperformed.

In response, Sue Lee, S&P DJI APAC index investment strategy head, stated that active and passive managers must be evaluated using different metrics. While active funds aim to outperform a benchmark, passive funds are measured by their ability to track a benchmark closely.

Data from the mid-year 2026 SPIVA scorecard shows that 67% of actively managed large-cap funds underperformed the S&P 500 in the first half of the year. This underperformance trend intensifies over longer periods, with 93% of large-cap funds trailing the index over a 20-year horizon. Mid-cap and small-cap managers also struggled, with 74% and 69% of funds lagging their respective benchmarks during the same period.