Not that I would advocate for investing in actively managed funds, but my understanding is that part of the reason it's been very difficult to beat the market t

Not that I would advocate for investing in actively managed funds, but my understanding is that part of the reason it's been very difficult to beat the market these past years is because stocks as a whole have been doing very well. At least for value investors like Warren Buffet, it seems they are more likely to be able to beat the market when it isn't so bearish, because that's when you'd be able to find stocks at good prices. It also appears that the reason stocks are doing so well recently is because of quantitative easing, although I'll admit I don't know much about the economy; this is just what I gather from reading articles. Still, if this is true then it's rather disturbing that the markets can be so heavily influenced by decisions which are arguably outside of a business's direct control.