Morningstar Announces 2009 Fund Manager of the Year Awards
January 05 2010 - 10:06AM
PR Newswire (US)
Winning managers Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme, the team at American
Funds EuroPacific Growth, and the team at Loomis Sayles Bond made
substantial strides in reclaiming 2008 losses CHICAGO, Jan. 5
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a
leading provider of independent investment research, today
announced the winners of its 2009 Fund Manager of the Year award.
The three awards acknowledge those managers who delivered excellent
performance in 2009 and over the long term and have been good
stewards of fund shareholder capital. To recognize the best fund
managers each year, Morningstar selects leaders in three asset
classes--domestic stock, international stock, and fixed income. The
2009 Fund Manager of the Year winners are: Domestic-Stock Fund
Manager of the Year: Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme (FAIRX)
International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year: The team at American
Funds EuroPacific Growth (AEPGX) Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the
Year: The team at Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX) "Stock and bond
markets posted spectacular gains in 2009, but investors remain
subdued with portfolios still marred by the global financial crisis
that began in 2007," said Karen Dolan, director of mutual fund
analysis for Morningstar. "The winning managers deftly steered
their funds throughout the tumultuous environment and emerged
strong in 2009's rally. These managers have posted competitive
long-term results for their shareholders and demonstrated
exceptional stewardship of capital." Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of
the Year: Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme (FAIRX) Bruce Berkowitz was
last nominated for the Morningstar award in 2008 and clinches the
2009 award for posting yet another superior year, placing him in
the top quartile of the fund's peer group for nine of the fund's
10-year existence. Berkowitz revamped the portfolio in 2008 by
selling high-flying energy stocks and picking up out-of-favor
pharmaceutical and defense companies. The fund gained 39 percent in
2009, placing it in the top 9 percent of its large-blend category
peer group. In 2008, Fairholme lost approximately 30 percent while
the average domestic-stock fund lost 39 percent. Since its
inception in December 1999, the fund has more than tripled in
value, while the market has lost nearly 10 percent cumulatively
over the same period. Dolan said, "Bruce Berkowitz continues to
impress in good markets and in bad. While 2009 is a great
achievement for the fund, it is all the more impressive when you
consider the attractive returns he's put up year after year in a
variety of environments." International-Stock Fund Manager of the
Year: The team at American Funds EuroPacific Growth (AEPGX) The
team at American Funds EuroPacific Growth took home this award in
1999 and wins again for 2009 with a one-year gain of 39 percent,
ahead of 85 percent of its peers. The eight-person management team
includes Stephen Bepler, Mark Denning, Nicholas Grace, Carl Kawaja,
Jonathan Knowles, Sung Lee, Robert Lovelace, and Jesper Lyckeus. It
made timely decisions--sticking with strong emerging-markets
companies when they were spiraling downward in 2008 as well as
buying out-of-favor financials and putting a sizeable cash position
to work in 2009. The fund's top-quartile performance in the foreign
large-blend category in seven of the past 10 calendar years is due
to the managers' consistently successful stock picks. The fund is
also shareholder-friendly with one of the longest tenured teams
around and a 0.80 percent expense ratio, which is much lower than
the average of 1.52 percent for international-stock funds. "This
fund's losses in 2008 were painful at 40.5 percent, in what was an
even worse year for most international-stock funds. It managed to
lose less than most without giving up ground on the upside. Any
weakness in this team's research would've been exposed in the past
two years as its large emerging-markets position was put to the
test--facing headwinds in 2008 and rallying in 2009. But, the
managers' picks were rock solid," Dolan said. "The firm has been
investing overseas much longer than many of its peers, starting its
research in the 1950s. This depth of experience has benefited
shareholders over the long term." Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the
Year: The team at Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX) The management team of
Dan Fuss, Kathleen Gaffney, Matthew Eagan, and Elaine Stokes
steered Loomis Sayles Bond to a remarkable 37 percent return for
2009, and claims this year's fixed-income award. The team's bold
go-anywhere approach, which typically results in hefty exposure to
junk corporate bonds and non-dollar currencies, has seen its share
of ups and downs in the short run. The fund's boldness has
delivered outstanding results over the long haul, though, as
reflected in the fund's 8.3 percent annualized returns since its
inception in early 1997. Fuss, who has led the fund since 1991,
also won the award in this category in 1995. The fund is a
Morningstar Analyst Pick for the team's investing acumen and
substantial personal investment alongside shareholders. Regulatory
filings show that all of the managers have more than $100,000
invested in the fund, and Fuss has more than $1 million in the
fund. "The disciplined and experienced team at Loomis Sayles Bond
has served shareholders well over the past year and over the long
haul. The team has just been through one of the most difficult
periods for its deep-value approach, but it took calculated risks
and stuck with its strategy in 2008's difficult market, which paid
off in spades in 2009," Dolan said. "The team also steered the fund
to the right foreign currencies in 2009, a skill that has proved to
be one of its strong suits over time." 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 performance and of aligning their
interests with shareholders'. The Fund Manager of the Year award
winners are chosen based on Morningstar's proprietary research and
in-depth evaluation by its fund analysts. All year-end figures
cited in this press release are preliminary and subject to change.
For Morningstar's article about the winners, go to:
http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmoy2009. For the complete list of
past and current winners, go to:
http://corporate.morningstar.com/FMOYhalloffame. 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.
©2010 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. MORN-C Media Contact:
Nadine Youssef, 312-696-6601 or DATASOURCE: Morningstar, Inc.
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