Asset managers who actively manage large institutional investments outperformed benchmarks by 42 basis points after expenses, according to Asset Managers: Institutional Performance and Smart Betas (NBER Working Paper No. 22982). Researchers Joseph Gerakos, Juhani T. Linnainmaa, and Adair Morse estimate that they achieved this through "smart beta" strategies, which weight portfolios to track various factors and indices that have historically earned abnormal returns.