The average active manager who mostly uses stocks in the S&P 500 matches the S&P 500, before fees, almost by definition. Given that the vast majority of passive

The average active manager who mostly uses stocks in the S&P 500 matches the S&P 500, before fees, almost by definition. Given that the vast majority of passive investment is approximately tracking the S&P 500, active managers -- the complement of the passive set -- must also have the same average. The only way active managers could average something substantially different is if passive investments underperformed or overperformed, neither of which are the case.