In the past 20 years, investing in low-cost index funds like the S&P 500 has come to dominate much of the investing landscape.
The reason? It’s cheaper than investing in most mutual funds, there’s far less trading (which increases costs), and the primary structure that is used to invest in index funds — Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), also have tax advantages.
No one can pinpoint the exact date when it became clear that investing in index funds had won out over investing in active management, but Warren Buffett declaring it to be so was certainly a pivotal moment.
The year was 2007. Buffett had entered into a bet with Protege Partners, a New York City money management firm that runs funds of hedge funds, that an index fund could beat an active manager.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/03/billionaire-warren-buffett-swears-by-this-inexpensive-investing-strategy-that-anyone-can-try.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.CopyToPasteboard