Morningstar has announced the nominees for its 2017 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year awards. The list includes managers from three T. Rowe Price funds and two funds each from Pimco and Fidelity. Altogether, managers from 16 funds are nominated in four categories: U.S. stocks, international stocks, fixed income and allocation/alternatives.
"This year's crop of nominees delivered strong returns to shareholders by sticking to their fundamental investing approach," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's director of manager research, North America.
"These managers have exhibited the discipline and skill that successful investing demands, and they've also demonstrated a strong commitment to shareholders. Our nominees have generated solid past performance, and we think they'll do well in the future."
The awards, which have been dispensed since 1988, recognize managers for their performance not only in 2017 but also on a long-term risk-adjusted basis and for acting as "good stewards of shareholders' capital," according to Morningstar. The managers' funds must also have a Morningstar Analyst Rating of gold or silver.
Morningstar plans to announce the winners in each category on Jan. 24 on CNBC's "Power Lunch" program. In the meantime it will be highlighting the achievements of the nominees in each category on its website over the next two weeks.
Its highlights for the four U.S. stock fund managers, which have already been released, note that all four "distinguished themselves with strong stock-picking, with some taking advantage of favorable tailwinds for large caps and tech firms and others finding hidden gems."
All placed in the top 10% of their Morningstar category for 2017, and all four outperformed the 19% gain in the S&P 500 that year, including three that gained more than 30%.
The nominees for Morningstar's 2017 Fund Manager of the Year awards in the United States are:
