Actively managed funds are gaining ground on their passive peers, with about 40% of actively managed mutual and exchange traded funds beating the average return of comparable, asset-weighted passive funds over the past 12 months. No CapActive large-cap funds’ success rate lagged behind other categories, with only 27% outperforming their average passive counterpart. Active bond funds had a success rate of 52%, as they generally took more credit risk than their indexed counterparts. Active global real estate funds had the highest success rate of any category at 74%, up from 14% in the prior year. It Pays to Be Cheap: A third of active funds in the cheapest quintile of their respective categories beat their average passive counterparts, as opposed to only 20% for the most expensive funds.