Add a new piece of evidence to the notion that most active fund managers fail to beat their benchmark indices over the long haul: According to recently released data from Standard & Poor’s, over the five years ending June 2008, the S&P 500 outperformed 68.6% of actively managed large cap funds; the S&P MidCap 400 outperformed 75.9% of mid-cap funds; and the S&P SmallCap 600 outperformed 77.8% of small cap funds.

The data comes from S&P’s mid-year 2008 S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) Scorecard, which examines more than 3,500 unique fund portfolios, and, importantly, adjusts for survivorship; that is, it includes in its calculations those funds that did not make it through the full tracking period, something such examinations sometimes overlook.

The current SPIVA report has been enhanced and has broader asset class coverage, according to S&P. To see past SPIVA reports, click here.