Image Credit: Alex Nabaum

Sometimes, what research shows is less telling than what it doesn’t show.

Consider a recent study from Fidelity Investments that has been circulating widely among financial advisers. It indicates that index, or passive, funds—those popular investment baskets that run on autopilot by tracking all the holdings in a market benchmark like the S&P 500 index—may not be as superior as many investors think.

One slide, titled “Dramatic Misperception of Passive Outperformance,” shows active funds—which try to beat the market instead of just matching it as passive funds do—earning higher returns in most categories….

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