Ben Johnson: Index Funds Are Not 'Zombie Investors'

<p>Our guest on this week’s episode of The Long View podcast is Ben Johnson. Ben is Morningstar's director of global passive research. In that role, Ben leads a team of analysts who conduct research on index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds and publish research on the global passive investing industry.</p><p>Before assuming his current role, Ben was director of ETF research for Europe and Asia and served as the editor of the <i>Morningstar ETFInvestor</i> newsletter. Prior to that, Ben served as a senior equity analyst at Morningstar covering the agriculture and chemicals industry. Before joining Morningstar in 2006, Ben worked as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin, as well as the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. In 2015, Fund Directions and Fund Action named Ben among the 2015 Rising Stars of Mutual Funds. </p><p><strong>Background</strong><br /><a href="https://www.morningstar.com/authors/680/ben-johnson">Ben Johnson articles and videos on Morningstar.com </a></p><p><strong>Growth of Indexing</strong><br />“<a href="https://www.morningstar.com/articles/937968/investors-still-pouring-money-into-passive-funds">Investors Still Pouring Money Into Passive Funds</a>,” by Christine Benz and Kevin McDevitt, Morningstar.com, July 29, 2019. </p><p>“<a href="https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2019/02/21/have-fee-based-models-won-the-battle-or-the-war/" target="_blank">Have Fee-Based Models Won the Battle ... or the War?</a>,” by Ginger Szala, ThinkAdvisor, Feb. 21, 2019. </p><p>“<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/passive-u-s-equity-funds-eclipse-active-in-epic-industry-shift" target="_blank">End of Era: Passive Equity Funds Surpass Active in Epic Shift</a>,” by John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg.com, Sept. 11, 2019. </p><p>“<a href="https://www.morningstar.com/blog/2018/11/09/rdr-fund-fee-effects.html" target="_blank">Retail Distribution Review: Effects on Fund Fees in the UK</a>,” by Jackie Beard, Morningstar blog, No