Morningstar Names Bruce Berkowitz, David Herro, and Bill Gross Fund Managers of the Decade
January 12 2010 - 10:04AM
PR Newswire (US)
Winning managers benefited shareholders for 10 years by adhering to
disciplined strategies CHICAGO, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent
investment research, today announced the winners of its Fund
Manager of the Decade award. The Fund Manager of the Decade award,
which is a new award from Morningstar, recognizes fund managers who
have achieved superior risk-adjusted results over the past 10 years
and have an established record of serving shareholders well.
Morningstar selected leaders in three asset classes--domestic
stock, international stock, and fixed income. The Fund Manager of
the Decade winners are: Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade:
Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme (FAIRX) International-Stock Fund Manager
of the Decade: David Herro, Oakmark International Small Cap I
(OAKEX) and Oakmark International I (OAKIX) Fixed-Income Fund
Manager of the Decade: Bill Gross, PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX),
Managers PIMCO Bond (MBDFX), and Harbor Bond (HABDX) "The 2000s saw
many booms and busts; bond markets were subdued and equities ended
the decade nearly flat. Our Fund Managers of the Decade showcased
superior investing acumen and the ability to stay the course," said
Karen Dolan, director of mutual fund analysis for Morningstar.
"These managers got ahead by preserving capital on the downside and
believing in their research when it pointed to good values."
Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade: Bruce Berkowitz,
Fairholme (FAIRX) At the helm of Fairholme since its inception in
December 1999, Bruce Berkowitz has seen the fund grow from a few
million dollars in assets to more than $10 billion today. His
aptitude for picking stocks sets him apart from his peers, and
Fairholme's portfolio is filled with attractively priced firms that
generate high free cash flow. Berkowitz's strategy has led to a
stellar long-term record, and his large cash stakes have helped
limit volatility: Fairholme earned a 13.2 percent 10-year
annualized total return through Dec. 31, 2009, beating the S&P
500 by 14 percentage points. Morningstar also named Berkowitz its
2009 Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award earlier this
month. Fairholme is a current Morningstar Analyst Pick. Dolan said,
"Bruce Berkowitz secured a spot for himself among the elite stock
pickers this past decade. He has executed his approach masterfully
by revamping the portfolio multiple times over the last 10 years in
a continuous effort to find the best bargains." International-Stock
Fund Manager of the Decade: David Herro, Oakmark International
Small Cap I (OAKEX) and Oakmark International I (OAKIX) David Herro
received Morningstar's 2006 International-Stock Fund Manager of the
Year award for his concentrated, value-conscious portfolios--and
his strategy remains the same today. He favors stocks trading at
steep discounts to their intrinsic values and avoids hot trends,
which has proved advantageous over the long term. Oakmark
International Small Cap achieved just over a 10 percent annualized
return for the past decade, while Oakmark International attained
slightly more than 8 percent. In addition to strong returns,
Herro's interests are strongly aligned with his shareholders; he
has been at the helm of both funds since their inception. "David
Herro has achieved results by looking for stocks trading well below
his estimate of their value. His portfolios don't look anything
like the benchmark and are often spiced up with a healthy dose of
emerging-markets exposure," Dolan said. "His long tenure and high
personal investment in the funds clearly demonstrate his dedication
to investors." Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Decade: Bill Gross,
PIMCO Total Return (PTTRX), Managers PIMCO Bond (MBDFX), and Harbor
Bond (HABDX) A three-time winner of Morningstar's Fixed-Income Fund
Manager of the Year award in this category (1998, 2000, and 2007),
Bill Gross combines PIMCO's long-term macroeconomic outlook and
perspective on short-term cyclical factors to select the
portfolio's holdings. Gross and the other investors at PIMCO have
made many prescient calls on interest rates, bond sectors, and
currencies--and nailed the housing bubble. The largest mutual fund
with more than $192 billion in assets, PIMCO Total Return had a
10-year annualized total return of 7.7 percent for the decade, with
similarly strong performance in the three- and five-year periods.
Harbor Bond is a current Morningstar Analyst Pick. "Bill Gross and
PIMCO are widely considered to be among the best in the business,"
Dolan said. "Despite the fund's immense size, he has maintained the
fund's perch at the top of its category, making investors a lot of
money in the process." 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 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 winners, go to: http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmod. For
Morningstar's article about the nominees, go to:
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.
©2010 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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