UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

We introduce a new formula for Active Share that emphasizes that a fund's Active Share is only reduced through overlapping holdings with its benchmark. Next, we relate Active Share to the fund manager's individual stock picking skill, conviction and opportunity. We show why and how to adjust the expense ratio for the level of Active Share and the cost of investing in the benchmark. We conclude that Active Share matters for actively managed funds: investors should not pay (too) much for low Active Share funds which generally underperform, there is no evidence that high Active Share funds as a group have underperformed, while patient managers with high Active Share have been quite successful.​​... Active Share is not a measure of skill but rather measures how different the fund's holdings are relative to the holdings of the particular benchmark considered. Any difference in performance can only come from fund positions that are different from the benchmark positions, i.e., that are..

Also known as: active share

Primary location: Notre Dame United States