MORN Morningstar Inc

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Which fund managers have served investors the best during the most trying decade since the Great Depression? Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, shared its favorites with investors today and announced its nominees for the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Decade awards. Morningstar will announce the award winners in January following its coveted Fund Manager of the Year awards. The Fund Manager of the Decade award, which is a new award from Morningstar, recognizes fund managers who have achieved superior results over the past 10 years and have an established record of serving shareholders well. "The past 10 years have been the most brutal period for investors since the 1930s. Two severe bear markets wiped out years of prior gains and have left many investors with uninspiring returns over the entire period," said Karen Dolan, director of mutual fund analysis for Morningstar. "The nominees for this award excelled by relying on their own original research, preserving capital when needed, and having the patience to stick with their approaches in good times and bad." Morningstar will select winners in three broad asset classes--domestic stock, international stock, and fixed income. The nominees for the Fund Manager of the Decade awards are: Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade: -- Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme (FAIRX) -- Charlie Dreifus, Royce Special Equity Investment (RYSEX) -- Steve Romick, FPA Crescent (FPACX) -- Joel Tillinghast, Fidelity Low-Priced Stock (FLPSX) -- Don Yacktman, Yacktman (YACKX) International-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade: -- The team, American Funds EuroPacific Growth A (AEPGX) -- The team, Manning & Napier World Opportunities A (EXWAX) -- Jean-Marie Eveillard, First Eagle Global A (SGENX) -- David Herro, Oakmark International Small Cap I and Oakmark International I (OAKEX and OAKIX) -- Dennis Stattman, BlackRock Global Allocation A (MDLOX) Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Decade: -- The team, Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX) -- Dan Fuss, Loomis Sayles Bond Retail (LSBRX) -- Bill Gross, PIMCO Total Return Institutional (PTTRX) -- Jeffrey Gundlach, TCW Total Return Bond I (TGLMX) -- Christine Thompson, Fidelity Municipal Income and Fidelity Advisor Municipal Income A (FHIGX and FAMUX) "As the decade officially comes to a close, we'll evaluate these great managers and award those who did the best job steering their funds through this tumultuous period to achieve outstanding long-term performance for their investors," Dolan said. While the awards focus on performance over the past decade, Morningstar takes into consideration other factors, including the fund manager's strategy, approach to risk, size of the fund, and stewardship. Both individual fund managers and management teams are eligible, and being a previous winner of the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award isn't a prerequisite. Morningstar's fund analysts will select the Fund Manager of the Decade award winners based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth evaluation. For Morningstar's article about the Fund Manager of the Decade award nominees, please visit http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmodnominees. 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 Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 325,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries. ©2009 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. MORN-C Media Contact: Nadine Youssef, 312-696-6601 or DATASOURCE: Morningstar, Inc. CONTACT: Nadine Youssef of Morningstar, Inc., +1-312-696-6601, Web Site: http://www.morningstar.com/

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