Do the expected trends among institutional investors—Fidelity's survey accounts for $29 trillion, or half of global institutional assets under management—portend anything for the $5 trillion U.S. 401(k) plan market? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Around the globe, institutional investors are signaling a shift away from traditional passive investment strategies to actively managed strategies, as pension plans, insurance companies, and other large investors brace for a low-return environment and increased volatility over the next six years.

Fidelity's annual Global Institutional Investor Survey, which takes the pulse of 905 large investors across 25 countries, suggests the considerable momentum behind passive index investing over the past two decades is likely to see a pendulum swing in the opposite direction.

“Institutions realize that in the long-term, market activity may no longer be enough to generate returns, so they have to work smarter to reach their goals,” said Jeff Mitchell, chief investment officer, Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, in a press statement.