Hello Jason
I read with great interest your post on the active versus passive debate as I am on the far right of the active spectrum.
If I may add a thought, I would lke to rephrase this debate as the fundamentals versus the quants.
Much like the question that Vanguard poses of can you beat the indices (before or after expenses) I think that competing with the low cost base of quants will be difficult for active managers.
In my research I have discovered that mean-variance optimization (adjusted before and after the fact for the many excellent variables espoused in the CFA program) will consistently outperform the best of the best fundamental guys - consistency over the years being the key - on both an absolute and sharpe ratio (risk) adjusted basis.
I trust you had an enjoyable summer - I absorbed every blazing moment of it as I am confident that I will need this in the winter ahead.
Kind regards and a pleasant long weekend
Savio