Author’s 5-year active portfolio trailed S&P 500 by 2%. This underperformance implies a long-term passive S&P 500 index position would have captured better returns with less effort. Favor broad index ownership over discretionary stock picking. Past 5-year SPY returns may not repeat; active manager skill, tax-loss harvesting, or factor tilts can outperform.
Author’s 5-year active portfolio trailed S&P 500 by 2%. This underperformance implies a long-term passive S&P 500 index position would have captured better returns with less effort. Favor broad index ownership over discretionary stock picking. Past 5-year SPY returns may not repeat; active manager skill, tax-loss harvesting, or factor tilts can outperform.