Active versus Passive: In the Bond Universe

The recent rapid growth of passive investment instruments in the fixed-income market raises the question of their relative outperformance compared to corresponding active investment strategies. This article analyzes an ample sample of actively managed global bond funds over the period from 2010 to 2020 and compares them with the performance of the passive instruments tracking the apposite bond market index, namely, the Bloomberg Barclays Multiverse Index. On average, the active bond managers and index are roughly in line. However, a closer look at the distribution of returns on active strategies shows that some managers are successful in beating the index frequently or over many years.