S&P Indices Versus Active, or "SPIVA," is the abbreviation for a regular series of research studies that assesses how actively managed funds perform in relation to acceptable benchmarks. 

The main purpose of the SPIVA Scorecards is to contribute to an informed discussion about the relative benefits of active versus passive investment, which is sometimes unavoidably noisy. 

The scorecards achieve this by presenting information on the locations (and times) throughout both short- and long-term periods when actively managed funds have performed well (or poorly).
 

Many inferences can be drawn from SPIVA data, including: - The majority of active managers consistently underperform. 

- As the observation time gets longer, underperformance tends to become more prevalent. 

— Despite the fact that SPIVA initially focused only on active U.S. equities managers, data on fixed income and global/international managers also yield the same outcomes. 

These findings hold true across geographical boundaries. 

When good performance does happen, it rarely lasts. Above-average past results do not guarantee above-average future results.