Gill Hutchison: Opposing armies or agreeable bedfellows?

The debate about the use of active and passive funds is well-rehearsed but it is very often couched in the context of one "versus" the other. This is a phoney war. The reality is that either or both types of vehicles have merits and can be valid, depending upon needs and circumstances, such as those set out in the box to the right.  Equally, for those building portfolios, a mix of passively-managed and actively-managed funds can be an effective approach to providing the right mix of market exposures, controlling risks relative to the desired profile, deploying tactical asset allocation v...