Morningstar Announces Nominees for 2014 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year Awards

CHICAGO, Jan. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the nominees for its 2014 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year awards. The awards acknowledge managers who not only delivered impressive performance in 2014, but who have also shown 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 categories: domestic stock, international stock, fixed income, alternatives, and allocation.  

The nominees for the 2014 Fund Manager of the Year awards in the United States are:

Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:

• Phillip N. Davidson, Kevin Toney, Brian Woglom, and Michael Liss, American Century Mid Cap Value (ACMVX), American Century Value (TWVLX), and American Century Equity Income (TWEIX)
• Juliet Ellis, Juan Hartsfield, and Clay Manley, Invesco Small Cap Growth (GTSAX)
• Todd Ahlsten and Ben Allen, Parnassus Core Equity (PRBLX)
• Theo Kolokotrones, Joel Fried, Al Mordecai, Mohsin Ansari, and James Marchetti, Primecap Odyssey Aggressive Growth (POAGX), Primecap Odyssey Growth (POGRX), Primecap Odyssey Stock (POSKX), Vanguard Capital Opportunity (VHCOX), Vanguard Primecap Core (VPCCX), and Vanguard Primecap (VPMCX)
• Brian Berghuis, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth (RPMGX)

International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:

• David Samra and Daniel O'Keefe, Artisan International Value (ARTKX) and Artisan Global Value (ARTGX)
• Charles Pohl, Diana Strandberg, and team, Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX)
• Justin Thomson and team, T. Rowe Price International Discovery (PRIDX)

Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year:

• Franco Castagliuolo and Bill Irving, Fidelity GNMA (FGMNX) and Fidelity Government Income (FGOVX)
• Steve Smith, David Hoffman, and John McIntyre, Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunities Bond (GOBIX)
• Michael Garrett, Vanguard GNMA, Admiral Shares (VFIJX)
• Ken Leech, Carl Eichstaedt, and Mark Lindbloom, Western Asset Core Bond (WACSX) and Western Asset Core Plus Bond (WAPSX)

Alternatives Fund Manager of the Year:

• Joel Greenblatt and Robert Goldstein, Gotham Absolute Return (GARIX)
• Robert T. Jones, and team, Robeco Boston Partners Long/Short Equity (BPLSX and BPLEX)
• James Troyer, Michael Roach, and James Stetler, Vanguard Market Neutral (VMNFX and VMNIX)

Allocation Fund Manager of the Year:

• Anne Lester and team, JPMorgan SmartRetirement target-date series (JSIIX, JSFIX, JTTIX, JNSIX, JSMIX, SRJIX, SMTIX, JSAIX, JTSIX, and JFFIX)
• David Giroux, T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX)
• Edward P. Bousa and John C. Keogh, Vanguard Wellington (VWELX)

Jon Hale, Morningstar's director of manager research, North America, said, "Investors experienced more volatile equity markets and a decline in bond yields in 2014, yet our nominees for the Fund Manager of the Year awards achieved excellent performance and aptly maneuvered through the year's surprises."

Morningstar will announce its 2014 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year award winners on Jan. 21 live on CNBC's "Power Lunch" program. For highlights about the Morningstar U.S. Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award nominees, visit http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmoy2014-nominees. Morningstar will highlight the nominees for the other four categories on Morningstar.com during the next two weeks.

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 479,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 13 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 investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2014. 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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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

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