If I was a billionaire, I would be very very nervous just dumping my billions in a S&P 500 ETF. At that level of wealth, you really ought to have a portfolio manager who can slice and dice your exposure in advantageous ways.
I don't think active management makes sense for the majority of folks, but billionaires are exactly the kind of people that it does make sense for. With a billion or two you can probably get yourself into some pretty good closed-end funds (if you're savvy about it) that will probably deliver better risk adjusted returns than vanilla passive.
Personally, if I had the money, I would go with 2 Sigma or AQR. Both of their past returns streams are stellar and uncorrelated with the markets.
I don't think active management makes sense for the majority of folks, but billionaires are exactly the kind of people that it does make sense for. With a billion or two you can probably get yourself into some pretty good closed-end funds (if you're savvy about it) that will probably deliver better risk adjusted returns than vanilla passive.
Personally, if I had the money, I would go with 2 Sigma or AQR. Both of their past returns streams are stellar and uncorrelated with the markets.