The country’s most prominent active fund managers avoided buying into Commonwealth Bank, betting the stock was too expensive. Now, as they rule off the financial year, they are counting the cost of missing out on the spectacular run of the local sharemarket’s biggest company.

Fund managers specialising in Australian equities have already had a torrid time trying to beat the index, which has been powered by the banks. The 15 largest fund managers have underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 by an average of two percentage points this year, Morningstar data shows.