I get that the fees can't be comparable, but without passive management, active management fees are unchecked, and they rose a lot over time.
I'm willing to agree that it should cost an order of magnitude more for an actively managed fee, but most are beyond that.
A lot of this seems like plain greed to me, combined with grift and graft. A lot of workplace plans try to funnel people into actively managed funds that often charge really high fees.
I'm not sure how fees are unchecked. Active management fees have fallen quite a bit over the past 5+ years. A lot of mediocre managers have gone out of business and many more probably will as well. Additionally, new fund launches are near all-time lows.
I'm willing to agree that it should cost an order of magnitude more for an actively managed fee, but most are beyond that.
A lot of this seems like plain greed to me, combined with grift and graft. A lot of workplace plans try to funnel people into actively managed funds that often charge really high fees.