the fees you pay on actively managed funds are a waste of money.

Generally it depends and there are certainly exceptions, but this position is a good prior to be modified by evidence. Absent evidence it stands :-)

Investing is complicated. There is no simple, bulletproof, one-size-fits-all recipe. To talk about "the best way" you need to start by specifying your goals and constraints (including things like risk tolerance) -- that's surprisingly hard.