Since the first publication of the S&P Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) U.S. Scorecard in 2002, S&P Dow Jones Indices has been the de facto scorekeeper of the ongoing active versus passive debate. The SPIVA Asia Ex-Japan Scorecard measures the performance of actively managed funds relative to relevant benchmarks, covering domestic equity, international equity and bond funds available in Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia.
Mid-Year 2025 Highlights
In the first half of 2025, many active domestic equity funds in Asia ex-Japan performed better than their relevant benchmarks, while a majority of international equity and bond funds underperformed. The rates of underperformance were generally higher for longer time horizons. Exhibit 1 summarizes the results over six-month and one-, three- and five-year periods ending in June 2025.
- As the global equity market experienced varied levels of performance and dispersion in H1 2025 (see Exhibits 3 and 4), active managers in the region also exhibited a wide range of relative performance across categories. Out of 13 reported fund categories, 8 witnessed a majority (greater than 50%) of funds underperforming their assigned benchmarks (see Exhibit 2).
- Domestic equity funds in Korea, China and Thailand excelled, with only one-quarter to one-third of active funds underperforming their respective broad-market benchmarks. Conversely, funds struggled to outperform in both the Taiwan Large-Cap and Taiwan Mid-/Small-Cap categories.
- International equity funds demonstrated better relative performance compared to recent years. In particular, the Global Equity (KRW) and U.S. Equity (KRW) categories saw a slim majority of funds outperforming their respective benchmarks. This may have been partially driven by currency hedging, which would have boosted the performance of some funds amid a sharp recovery of the Korean won.
- All three bond fund categories showed majority active underperformance. Asia USD Bond funds had the highest underperformance rate (83%) against the iBoxx USD Asia ex-Japan’s solid 3.9% gain in H1 2025.
- Fund Survivorship: The total number of active funds across our reported categories continued to trend higher, with fund liquidation remaining below 1% in H1 (see Report 2).
