Morningstar Announces Nominees for 2013 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year Awards

CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the nominees for its 2013 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year awards. The awards acknowledge managers who not only delivered impressive performance in 2013, but who have also delivered excellent long-term risk-adjusted returns, and have been good stewards of fund shareholders' capital. To recognize outstanding fund managers each year, Morningstar selects leaders in five strategies: domestic stock, international stock, fixed income, alternatives, and allocation.  

The nominees for the 2013 Fund Manager of the Year awards in the United States are:

Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:

• William Martindale and Robert Mitchell, Conestoga Small Cap (CCASX)
• Team, Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX)
• Dennis Lynch and team, Morgan Stanley Focus Growth (AMOAX), Morgan Stanley Growth (MSEQX), Morgan Stanley Mid Cap Growth (MPEGX), and Morgan Stanley Small Company Growth (MSSGX)
• Harry Burn, John DeGulis, and Gibb Kane, Sound Shore Fund (SSHFX)
• Larry Puglia, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth (TRBCX)

International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:

• Daniel O'Keefe and David Samra, Artisan International Value (ARTKX) and Artisan Global Value (ARTGX)
• Mark Yockey and team, Artisan International (ARTIX)
• Sarah Ketterer, Harry Hartford, and team, Causeway International Value (CIVVX)
• Team, Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX)
• David Herro and Rob Taylor, Oakmark International (OAKIX)

Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year:

• Team, Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX)
• Matt Eagan, Dan Fuss, and Elaine Stokes, Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX)
• Stephen Kane, Laird Landmann, and Tad Rivelle, Metropolitan West Total Return Bond (MWTRX)
• Daniel J. Ivascyn and Alfred T. Murata, PIMCO Income (PIMIX)
• Mark Vaselkiv, T. Rowe Price High-Yield (PRHYX)

Alternatives Fund Manager of the Year:

• Brian Hurst, Yao Hua Ooi, and team, AQR Managed Futures Strategy I (AQMIX)
• Michael Aronstein , MainStay Marketfield (MFLDX)
• Eric Connerly, Jay Feeney Jr., and team, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Research (BPIRX)

Allocation Fund Manager of the Year:

• Team, American Funds American Balanced (ABALX)
• Team, Dodge & Cox Balanced (DODBX)
• Mark Landecker, Steve Romick, and Brian Selmo, FPA Crescent (FPACX)
• David Giroux, T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX)

Scott Burns, Morningstar's director of global fund research, said, "We have an esteemed list of nominees for this year's awards, filled with fund managers who have adeptly steered shareholder capital and outperformed their peers over the long term, in addition to attaining strong returns in 2013."

Morningstar will announce its 2013 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year award winners on Jan. 15 live on CNBC's "Power Lunch" program. For Morningstar's article about the Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award nominees, visit http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmoy2013-nominees. Articles about the nominees for the other four awards will be published on Morningstar.com throughout the rest of the week.

Established in 1988, the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award recognizes portfolio managers who demonstrate excellent investment skill and the courage to differ from the consensus to benefit investors. To qualify for the award, managers' funds must have not only posted impressive returns for the year, but the managers also must have a record of delivering outstanding long-term risk-adjusted performance and of aligning their interests with shareholders'. Nominated funds must be Morningstar Medalists—a fund that has garnered a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The Fund Manager of the Year award winners are chosen based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth qualitative evaluation by its fund analysts.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 437,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 10 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has approximately $176 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2013. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar's current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Morningstar's expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Morningstar does not represent its Analyst Ratings to be guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or the fund's underlying securities' creditworthiness. The references above should not be considered a solicitation by Morningstar to buy securities.

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Media Contact:
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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.