An active fund means that the managers regularly buy and sell shares in the fund in an attempt to exceed the stock market index, ie the stock market's average development.

For fund companies, it is more profitable to sell active funds because they are more expensive than cheap index funds that, based on a computer program, follow the stock market automatically.

SVT's review shows that several of Sweden's largest equity funds, which are marketed as active, actually appear to be passive index funds.

These are called hidden index funds.

Key figures can be revealing

One of the equity funds that are marketed as active, at the same time as two key figures indicate that it can be a passive index fund, is the fund company AMF's Aktiefond Sverige.

One, active risk, measures how much the fund's return deviates from the index.

A number below three indicates that it may be an index fund.

AMF's fund last year was just under two.

The second figure, active share, measures how much of the fund's shareholding deviates from the shares in the index.

An active share below 60 percent indicates an index fund.

AMF's fund is just over 40 percent.

Per Wiklund, administrative manager at AMF Fonder, does not believe that you can only look at the two key figures.

- You have to put it in relation to the fee.

In this way, I think it is a very healthy active portfolio, with good conditions to beat its benchmark index.

If you have an even lower active share and a higher fee, then unreasonable demands are placed on the small active part.

It is an interaction with the fee, he says.

FI has initiated an investigation

In AMF Aktiefond Sverige, the fee is 0.4 percent.

This is significantly lower than the average for Swedish equity funds.

However, there are index funds that are even cheaper.

Finansinspektionen has initiated an investigation into the problem of hidden index funds.

The analysis and an inspection report are expected to be completed after the summer.

- Our analysis is that it has gotten better.

But there are still some funds that can be hidden index funds.

We will do some supervisory activity in the spring, says Catrin Hådén, deputy head of department at the authority.