S&P Capital IQ Announces Finalists for Its Second Annual U.S. Mutual Fund Excellence Awards

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Capital IQ today announced the 30 finalists in its second annual U.S. Mutual Fund Excellence Awards Program.

The mutual funds were once again selected as having most consistently achieved the highest overall ranking of five star during the measurement year based on S&P  Capital IQ's proprietary, quantitative holdings-based research. This year's list of finalists includes 11 funds making a second consecutive appearance in their respective categories. The full list is as follows:

"Once again this year, the funds we will soon be recognizing as Gold, Silver and Bronze recipients represent a mix of well-known fund companies and managers, as well as several fund families that might not currently be on investors' or advisors' radars," said Todd Rosenbluth, mutual fund analyst at S&P Capital IQ and lead architect in the creation of the S&P Capital IQ's mutual fund methodology.  

"As with last year, these finalists might not be the top three performers in their respective categories, but they have been the funds that achieved the highest overall ranking on the most consistent basis as we looked beyond past performance to include factors such as manager tenure, expense ratio, risk considerations of holdings, and more," continued Rosenbluth.

The categories for this year's Mutual Fund Excellence Awards are the same as those in 2010, including the "New and Notable" category, which focuses on funds that have track records shorter than three years.

"We continue to believe that new funds are just as deserving of attention and research as their more established counterparts," said Stephen Biggar, Global Managing Director of Equity Research at S&P Capital IQ. "That's why we don't wait for funds to pass the three-year mark before we begin analyzing their holdings and other fundamentals. That level of inclusion is something we feel is a positive for the fund industry and fund investors."

The Gold, Silver, and Bronze recipients in each category will be announced on October 17th.

About the S&P Capital IQ Mutual Fund Awards

The S&P Capital IQ Mutual Fund Awards is an annual awards program managed by the equity research unit of S&P Capital IQ and is based on the firm's proprietary, quantitative research methodology.   The awards recognize those U.S. mutual funds that have achieved the highest overall ranking on the most consistent basis during the measurement year August 31, 2010 through August 31, 2011, except for the New and Notable category.  Among the factors the research process seeks to identify are consistently strong performance; high quality holdings as measured by S&P STARS equity research, S&P Credit Ratings and S&P Quality Rankings; and favorable cost factors.  Additional information about the awards program, the selection methodology, and the award recipients is available at www.spfundawards.com.

S&P Capital IQ's equity research is conducted independently of other analytical activities at either S&P Capital IQ or Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.  Both organizations have established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of certain non-public information received in connection with each analytical process. S&P Capital IQ does not trade for its own account.   The analytical and ethical conduct of S&P Capital IQ's equity analysts is governed by the firm's Research Objectivity Policy, a copy of which may be found at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

About S&P Capital IQ

S&P Capital IQ, a brand of the McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading provider of multi-asset class data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment advisors and wealth managers around the world. We provide a broad suite of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. Through leading desktop solutions such as Capital IQ, Global Credit Portal and MarketScope Advisor desktops; enterprise solutions such as S&P Securities Evaluations, Global Data Solutions, and Compustat; and research offerings including Leveraged Commentary & Data, Valuation & Risk Strategies and S&P Equity Research, S&P Capital IQ sharpens financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need.

For more information contact:

Marc Eiger, Communications, Tel.: 212-438-1280
[email protected]

SOURCE S&P Capital IQ