Not apples to apples, but a comparison where the manager uses an alternative strategy using specific stock picks compared to the same strategy using representative index ETFs would be Leuthold Core Investment, LCORX versus LCR. I would assume LCORX is picking their best stock picks represented in the LCR indexes.
Amazing to me, but using PerfCharts, it shows starting at LCR's inception, Jan 2020, to today, a bit over 4 1/2 years, LCR and LCORX both have the exact accumulated return, 39.6%. The trend lines don't lay exactly on top of each other, but close, and they end up with the same return.
I don't know what to make of this other than management's preferred stock picks (LCORX) don't return any more or any less than a comparative index (LCR). The gain or loss is in the management process.

T. Rowe Price debuts its first tax-free municipal bond ETF (TAXE)
BALTIMORE, July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ-GS: TROW), a global investment management firm, announced today the addition of its first federally tax-free fixed income exchange-traded fund (ETF) to its active ETF roster. T. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Ticker: TAXE) began trading today on the NASDAQ exchange.
The Intermediate Municipal Income strategy focuses on investment-grade intermediate-term municipal bonds with a weighted average effective maturity of four to 12 years. T. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF is co-managed by James Lynch and Charlie Hill, who collectively have 53 years of investment experience, and have served in portfolio management roles for other T. Rowe Price intermediate-term municipal bond strategies. This ETF is a new strategy, the first of the firm's fixed income active ETFs that is distinct from existing T. Rowe Price mutual funds.
T. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Ticker: TAXE)
Seeks the highest level of income exempt from federal income taxes consistent with moderate price fluctuation
Net expense ratio is 0.24%
< - >
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-rowe-price-launches-its-first-active-tax-free-bond-exchange-traded-fund-302193635.html

...
It's down to FDSVX or PRWAX. Tip of the cap to @stillers for drawing my attention to funds I had missed.

Thanks man! We've built what we regard as the best portfolio we've ever had in our 40+ years of doing this. FDSVX and PRWAX are core holdings in it. Here's hoping whichever fund you select is as kind to you as these two have been to us!

It's pretty sad and going on for years. Be scared of US LC, especially the MAG 5-6-7
But let me sell you NOW Value, SC, EM and CEFs.
Wait, last Dec the "experts" told us that the Fed is going to cut 5-6-7 times, buy Treasuries. VGIT is finally at 0.2% YTD.
It's amazing how these "experts" get paid and have a job.
Sure, one day it will happen.

@Stillers, the money was previously invested in tech funds, so moving to growth seems appropriate. Good point about the inflation news, OTOH, if it's good news . . .
I look at the last three years to see how the funds have behaved since the end of ZIRP. And when I run them through Portfolio Visualizer I'll start the clock at January 2022 for an even tougher challenge. I think the issues of inflation and interest rates are likely to be with us for a while.
I did have to look at five and ten year returns to insure that the funds I am testing have performed at least as well a AMAGX over those time periods. I then looked for funds with an active share over 50. That left me with FDSVX, PRWAX, and FTRNX which I am examining now.
I am at 30% bonds, 10% cash. Most of the bonds are low duration floaters. But I'll leave that for another day. That's about as high as it will get for me given what I have in IYK, FSUTX, and GLIFX.

Tough choice for us between FDSVX and FBGRX but settled on the former. PRWAX is one of the most underrated LCG funds. We would own any of them over AMAGX.
Other thoughts:
Not sure of your situation, but if this is new money, might not be the best time to plow into Growth after its epic, current bull run. FWIW, we have recently reduced overall stock exposure including Growth and may go to all Cash if things start getting ugly en route to Nov. Also, if plowing money in this week, we would at least do some before/after Thu/Fri CPI/PPI announcements. They've been market movers this year.
We always look beyond 3 years of performance and think that everyone should. If its the same manager(s), not sure why anyone wouldn't.
Baron's Growth funds can run very hot/cold. We're likely done with that family of funds because of it.
ERs are important but TR is obviously far more important (to us at least). A great, managed LCG fund will run ~.50-.80, as do the ones I listed. Coupled with a LCG index fund at ~.02 and you're at half that. FWIW, our weighted portfolio ER is .46. If ERs though are a primary driver for you, looks like AMAGX's ER of .91 is the highest of the bunch here and almost double FBGRX's .48.

"Simplification" of the IRA continues. Why the scare quotes? Every time I make progress on the equity side there's some new bond fund popping up. Cleaning up that mess should be next summer's problem.
Today I sold three different tech funds, TDV, FSCSX, and CCIZX. Proceeds will go into something available at Fido like AMAGX, maybe GQEPX, something growthy, but probably not an index. The growth fund goes with FDVV and FMILX.
If anyone wants to opine on a good growthy fund at Fido, chime in.

IMO, the best "growthy fund(s) at Fido" that are Fido funds are:
FDSVX - Growth Discovery (we own)
FBGRX - Blue Chip Growth (owned in a/c's we manage)
FCNTX - Contrafund (have owned in the past)
FSELX - Select Semis (we own)
FSPTX - Select Technology (we own FSELX instead)
FSPGX - Growth Index (we own VIGAX instead)
Note that FMILX is a LV fund that is currently acting like a LG fund;
and the best non-Fido "growthy funds" funds are :
PRWAX - TRP All Cap Opportunities (we own)
GSIHX - GQG Partners International Opportunities (we own)

Thanks for sharing. Missed FDSVX the first time around. It is closer to what I'm looking for. PRWAX didn't make the first cut because it has only been a four-star fund these past three years. So I'll take a look at FDSVX and the four stars today to see what turns up to run against AMAGX.
A semi's fund is a consideration figuring a few beans on the side could grow into a largish bean stalk before we need to take distributions. But it would only be a few beans to start with.

This looks like the variation of the housing disaster we had only 15 years ago. That was not too long ago and how the mechanics are already in rinse and repeat cycle. I guess greed never sleeps.
As a society, we admire / glorify people that commit white color crimes. The more blatant ones get elected to public offices.
(A easier fix would be to require the originators and underwriters to hold a percentage of the loans that they originate / bring to the market.)

Fed Debt is $34T now. Fed Debt in 20 years = ??. What would that CAGR be?
More bonds being sold each year + probable increased interest rates on both existing debt rolling over + new issued debt. Many existing debt at 2% rolling over to 4%.

If CAGR matters most over the last 20 years.....I wonder what the CAGR of the Fed Debt will be over the next 20 years?

My primary reasons for becoming a Vanguard customer were: 1) good low-cost actively-managed funds;
2) firm had strong reputation; 3) firm was mutually owned vs. publicly traded.
I was never fond of Vanguard's investor website even after it was redesigned.
I seldom contacted Vanguard for assistance but did experience several suboptimal interactions.
Dan Wiener (The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors) chronicled Vanguard's customer service
issues for years. Regardless of the new CEO, I'm not confident these long-standing issues will be
ameliorated in the near-future. Updated commission and fee schedules (effective July 1) suggest
Vanguard is prioritizing "nickel-and-diming" investors rather than improving customer service.
Consequently, my two Vanguard accounts were recently transferred to other brokerages.

@WABAC,
Looks like you already own FDVV and FMILX and are recent additions. I think you also already own AMAGX. Why not increase those? GQEIX is also a good fund - not sure if you already own it.

I bought AMAGX for the taxable account because I thought it was the best available where the taxable is. At Fido I'll sort out the funds that have five stars for the previous three years, then I'll pop those into MFO premium for one last slice and dice.
FDVV and FMILX are about where they need to be until I can offload some other stuff.

Above-the-fold article on this morning's WSJ website. Also mentioned are concerns over new fees nickle-and-diming customers and how growth of AUM not leading to customer service/interface improvements.
(gift link)
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/vanguards-die-hard-customers-have-a-message-for-new-ceo-the-service-is-abysmal-c2da0491?st=79tslq2qz4mj6bi&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Vanguard ranked last out of eight major brokerages for customer satisfaction with website performance and mobile apps in a recent survey of 2,700 investors conducted by Investor’s Business Daily, which is published by The Wall Street Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones. The asset manager has acknowledged the problems, which some analysts chalk up to an underinvestment in technology.
Former CEO Tim Buckley, who announced his retirement in February, said in 2019 that the firm would spend $1 billion a year to improve its technology. Vanguard rolled out a modernized app in 2021, but customers weren’t impressed and complained of bugs and dumbed-down functionality.
“The complaints go back years and years,” said Daniel Sotiroff, a research analyst who covers Vanguard at Morningstar. “Part of the issue is their size and how fast they’ve grown. It’s hard to turn the Titanic.”
< - >
For investors having web or tech issues, the lack of night or weekend service is a particular point of frustration. Vanguard’s customer-service line is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. Rivals Fidelity and Charles Schwab both offer 24/7 customer service by phone.
“They’ve always tried to keep costs low and service has suffered as a result,” said Jeff DeMaso, editor of the Independent Vanguard Adviser, a newsletter. “Long wait times are an issue.”
< - >
There’s a theory, and I’m not the only one to come up with it, that they’d rather move people onto the personal advisory service where they make more money or they’re just as happy if they go to another brokerage,” said Allan Roth, founder of Wealth Logic, a financial-planning firm.

Sure, take out the engine of the world, and things will look different.
Value has been lagging for about 15 years now.
But one day.... :-)

I got one word fer yooz: PLASTICS. ...Ooops, wrong movie.
I got one word fer yooz--- in line with @rforno's remark: BREADTH.
A healthier Market would show more breadth of profit, in addition to the crazy-nutso, irrational shot upward in the MAG-7.
But you most often seem to want to talk past what others have to say; so, carry on.

"David Rubenstein talks to well-known credit investor Josh Friedman, the Co-CEO, Co-Founder,
and Co-Chairman of Canyon Partners. After cutting his teeth in the early days of high-yield bonds
alongside Mike Milken, Friedman has gone on to build his own $26 billion firm,
which has been well positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth of private
and distressed credit deals in recent years."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmazbha-Bvo
Good interview with Josh Friedman.
Some here may be familiar with River Canyon Total Return Bond Fund
(multisector bond) managed by a Canyon Partners subsidiary.

@Crash,
I have seen their power grab. By doing so, they have drawn everyone’s attention on to themselves.
We are here - “Let us see how they use (misuse) the power, in addition to imposing their ideology on the population”. One way or the other, the next 4 years are going to be defining for the Roberts’ court.
I draw comfort from knowing that everyone that ever served or pandered to Trump felt Trump’s wrath at the first instance they chose not to comply to his ever increasing demands. Mike Pence is a shining example in the long, ever increasing list of those. How the Court behaves is beyond this forum’s control. But as an investing forum, what we can do is try to make money in any given situation (make lemonade!). To do so, we have to take an observational attitude.
I called them Scotus (not SCOTUS) for a reason.

YBB,
Why bother buying and holding any index of small or mid caps? Tech companies go public these days as near large caps. So, very little growth potential left while in these indices. Seems like loss potential to zero and limited upside for components. The successful components graduate to SPY and the remaining unlimited potential is captured there. Seems like active is the only solution if one is itiching to buy and hold these caps.

the median cap weight of companies that IPO (not tech specific) over the previous 20 years was around 100 million (adjusted for inflation). 2020/2021 it was 180 million. only 19% of IPO's in 20/21 were over 500 million in market cap.

Barron’s Funds Quarterly (2024/Q2–July 8, 2024)
https://www.barrons.com/topics/mutual-funds-quarterly
(Performance data quoted in this Supplement are for 2024/Q2 and YTD to 6/30/24)
Pg L2: In comparing the best mutual funds (typically, active) vs the best ETFs (typically, passive, as the active ETFs are still evolving) in categories, the former were ahead (the 1st mentioned). Beware that leading active funds don’t maintain their lead after a few years; and some of these leading active funds are also concentrated. (Picture would change if average or typical mutual funds and ETFs were considered) (By @LewisBraham at MFO)
US Large-Caps GQEPX vs VOO, FDGRX vs QQQ
US Small-Caps AVALX vs RWJ, HFCGX vs IJR, NEAGX vs XSMO
Balanced/Hybrids DGIFX vs NTSX, FPURX vs OCIO (an unexciting category for ETFs)
International GSINX vs IDMO, BISAX vs FYLD, MSMLX vs EEMS
Bonds LCTRX vs FBND, FAGIX vs FALN (FAGIX may be conservative-allocation due to its equity)
Pg L6: Funds with exposure to Nvidia/NVDA and/or Eli Lilly/LLY did well, especially large-cap growth – HCMGX / HCMIX, FOCPX, VPMCX / VPMAX, VIGRX / VIGAX; ETFs QQQ, IWY, VUG (some leveraged funds are mentioned also). Other fund categories that did well include India, precious metals, utilities. (By @LewisBraham at MFO)
MORE Fund Stories (Part 2)
FUNDS. SMALL-CAP (SC) R2000/IWM is more cyclical after the June 28 rebalancing as companies such as SMCI have moved out. The Top 5 R2000 stocks are FTAI, INSM, ANF, FN, SFM, accounting for a whopping 1.93%. The Top 5 sectors are healthcare, industrials, financials, tech, consumer cyclicals. If you own R2000/IWM, keep an eye on Fed news. (Better, own SP SC 600 IJR, SPSM)
SCs are going through a period of profit slump. This notwithstanding that 40% of R2000/IWM are unprofitable. A simple solution is to use better SC index SP SC 600 (IJR, SPSM), or SC-quality DFAS (active).
INTERVIEW/Q&A. FUNDS. David BARON, BFGFX / BFGIX. He likes large positions in founder-led growth companies that are trading at discount from firm’s intrinsic value estimates, for example, TSLA, SpaceX (private), BIRK, ONON, SPOT, SHOP, H, FIGS, etc. His goal is to double the money in 4-5 years. He thinks that sideline money can support this rally; his upside now is 20-30%, downside 10-15%. Ron BARON (81) founded Baron Capital and now sons David (44) and Michael also work for the firm. Both are involved with multiple funds.
RETIREMENT. Don’t overstay in “cash” when rates start dropping. Gradually increase maturity – T-Notes, CDs, short/intermediate-term bond funds. Consider buffer funds such as MAXJ – it holds IVV with option collars.
LINK

Maybe ...... https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/05/us-treasury-yields-flat-ahead-of-key-jobs-report.html

That's what I was thinking

Next week, rates may go up, and the explanation will not look great. These articles explaining stuff can be generated by AI. Over the years, I have seen a reversal in explanations based on the new markets. I stopped listening to these articles many years ago.
This is why I follow prices, charts, and trends that tell me in real time a lot more.
Read (this).

"Artisan Partners used to have an Artisan International Small Cap Fund for several years in which it was closed (I believe it was opened in 2001)."
I owned this fund years ago.