Active management fight back in FMOTY

Active managers made a return to winners circle in the 2025 Financial Newswire/SQM Research Fund Manager of the Year Awards but the index huggers continued to show their strength.

Schroder Investment Management emerged as the Fund Manager of the Year signalling that active managers have been able to make a difference amid the volatility and uncertainty which marked the 12-month period across which fund performance was assessed.

SQM Research founder and chief executive, Louis Christopher said the selection of Schroders as the overall winner reflected the quality of the company’s research approach, noting that it had won or been highly regarded across multiple categories.

Research houses have this year pointed to the continuing pressure on active managers being generated by index funds, and this was reflected in the recognition of Vanguard BlackRock and State Street offerings among the finalists.

Christopher also noted the degree to which gold investment had played a part performance, amid continuing high levels of geopolitical uncertainty – something reflected in the Perth Mint Gold Structured Product winning the ETF product category and the VanEck Gold Bullion ETF winning the Emerging Funds category.