What happened
S&P Dow Jones Indices' SPIVA Australia Scorecard revealed that nearly 78% of active Australian large-cap equity funds underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 in the first half of 2026. Active funds averaged a return of 0.2% compared to 2.4% for the benchmark index. Over a 15-year horizon, 89% of active large-cap funds failed to beat the index.
Why it matters here
The data demonstrates that higher management fees rarely translate into outperformance for large-cap Australian shares. At the same time, the report highlighted growing concentration within the index itself, with the top 20 companies expanding their weighting in the S&P/ASX 200 from 61% to 63.4%, leaving index investors heavily exposed to a small group of mega-cap stocks.
What to watch
Subsequent SPIVA performance updates and capital flows into smart beta or alternative index strategies designed to reduce concentration risks in standard market-cap weighted benchmarks.
Source
vaneck.com.au