As the Dow Jones industrial average topped 20,000 for the first time ever, Morningstar named its 2016 Fund Manager of the Year award winners.
The awards, featured on CNBC's "Power Lunch" program Wednesday, recognize managers who delivered "impressive performance in 2016," produced strong long-term risk-adjusted returns and demonstrated that they were good stewards of fund shareholders' capital.
Some of the past year's nominees included active fund managers with firms like American Century, Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price.
"Active managers faced many challenges in 2016 including market headwinds and heavy redemptions as investors moved their assets to passive investments. In the face of those trends, these managers stood out for remaining steadfast in their investing approach, which paid off for investors last year," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's director of manager research for North America, in a statement.
"These Fund Managers of the Year also deserve recognition for the skill they've demonstrated, amassing impressive long-term records while demonstrating a commitment to shareholders," Lutton said.
Each year, Morningstar selects leaders in four categories: domestic stock, international stock, fixed income and allocation/alternatives. The fund research firm says its team looks "across all managed products that receive a Morningstar Analyst Rating to identify the industry's best managers."
Read on for the names of the U.S. 2016 Fund Manager of the Year award winners by category:
Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year
David Wallack of the T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value (TRMCX) won the award with a return of 24.3%. This figure put him above most other nominees.
"David's success in stock picking is mainly a result of his careful research and thoughtfulness dedicated to each company he invests in," said Lutton, in a statement. "The fund landed in the category's top decile and outpaced the benchmark by more than 4 percentage points in 2016. It maintained an edge on a risk-adjusted basis, landing in the category's sixth percentile for the same period."
According to the fund research firm, Wallack has run the fund since 2000. The fund has below-average fees and has been closed to new investors since 2010 — earning it a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold.
The manager also is willing to invest in "unpopular companies" such as Sysco. Since he began leading the fund, it has beaten its benchmark by 100 basis points a year on a total-return basis and by a wider margin on a risk-adjusted basis.
The other 2016 nominees in this category were:
- Phillip N. Davidson, Kevin Toney, Michael Liss, Dan Gruemmer and Brian Woglom — American Century Equity Income (TWEIX), American Century Value (TWVLX) and American Century Mid Cap Value (ACMVX) — with 2016 returns of 19.5%-22.8%;
- Scott Brayman and team — Champlain Small Company (CIPSX) — with returns of 28.0% in 2016; and
- Jerome Dodson and team for Parnassus (PARNX) — 2016 returns of 13.5%;
- Primecap team — Vanguard Primecap (VPMCX), Vanguard Primecap Core (VPCCX), Vanguard Capital Opportunity (VHCOX), Primecap Odyssey Growth (POGRX), Primecap Odyssey Stock (POSKX) and Primecap Odyssey Aggressive Growth (POAGX) — with returns of 8.4%-12.8% in 2016.
International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year
David Herro of Oakmark International (OAKIX) has been this fund's lead manager since its 1992 inception. Herro was Morningstar's 2006 International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year and International-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade for 2000-2009.
