Part of a global range keeping score on the active versus passive debate, the SPIVA Europe Scorecard measures the performance of actively managed funds domiciled in Europe, with semiannually updated statistics including outperformance rates relative to appropriate category benchmarks, survivorship rates and fund performance dispersion over a range of time horizons.
Mid-Year 2026 Highlights
Active managers faced markedly different opportunity sets across markets in H1 2026. In developed equities, outperformance generally required successful identification of a relatively narrow group of winners. In emerging markets, elevated dispersion contributed to a broader opportunity set and correspondingly lower underperformance rates. Fixed income presented a different challenge, with comparatively muted dispersion across major market segments, which limited opportunities for differentiation. Despite these contrasting environments, 65% of all the equity funds and 63% of the fixed income funds included in our scorecard underperformed their respective category benchmarks over the six months ending June 2026.
- A majority of European-domiciled actively managed funds underperformed their assigned benchmarks in the first half of 2026, with 65% of equity funds and 63% of fixed income funds lagging over the six months ending June 2026. Underperformance rates rose to 94% for equities and 76% for fixed income over the 10-year period (see Exhibit 1).
- In the largest category by both fund count and assets under management, 65% of EUR-denominated Global Equity funds underperformed the S&P World Index, which gained 12.4% in the first half of 2026. The average active fund also lagged: the equal-weighted return was 10.3% and the asset-weighted return was 11.7%.
- The S&P 500® remained difficult to beat, with 64% of EUR-denominated and 58% of GBP-denominated U.S. Equity funds underperforming over the six-month period. Over the 10-year period, the underperformance rates rose to 97% and 92%, respectively.
- Emerging Markets Equity was a notable exception to the broader pattern. Only 33% of EUR-denominated funds and 31% of GBP-denominated funds underperformed in H1 2026, meaning that roughly two-thirds of active managers outperformed in both categories.
- Results varied widely across European equity markets. At one end of the spectrum, 98% of Spain Equity funds underperformed in the first half of 2026, while 90% of U.K. Large-/Mid-Cap Equity funds and 86% of broad U.K. Equity funds lagged their benchmarks. Underperformance rates in Germany Equity and U.K. Small-Cap Equity were 48% and 46%, respectively.
