> In a scenario where passive funds are the best investment vehicle when looking at long term returns, what’s the role of buying and/or trading individual stock

> In a scenario where passive funds are the best investment vehicle when looking at long term returns, what’s the role of buying and/or trading individual stocks? Just to be clear, there are two interpretations (possibly more) of “best” in your question: * an index fund is “best” if its returns are greater than picking individual investments yourself. * an index fund is “best” if it is the quickest/cheapest way to balance risk and reward over the long term. I would guess that the majority of investors in index funds are looking for the quickest/cheapest approach. If your appetite for risk is greater and you have some time available time to manage things yourself, you can certainly manage your own portfolio.