Morningstar Releases ‘Fund Manager Of 2012′ Nominees List

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) released the list of nominees for its Domestic Stock, International Stock, and Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year for 2012. Winners will be announced in the first week of January next year.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN), provides independent investment research for investors.

According to Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN), the nominees for Domestic Stock Fund Manager of the Year delivered great results and served as strong stewards in putting the interest of fund holders first in 2012.

The nominees for Morningstar Domestic Stock Fund Manager of the Year include:

• The Team from American Funds New Economy A (MUTF:ANEFX)- a large growth fund that delivered 21.3 % year-to-date return as of December 10. The fund also has an outstanding long-term record beating 90% of its large-growth competitors and the all-cap Russell 3000 Growth Index over the past ten years. Timothy Armour, Gordon Crawford, Mark Denning, Claudia Huntington, and Harold La serve as manager of the fund. Each of the managers have overseen separate portfolios within the fund for at least 14 years.

• Timothy Hartch and Michael Keller from BBH Core Select N (MUTF:BBTEX) delivered an 18.9% return year-to-date as they managed a concentrated portfolio of around 30 stocks. In November 30, they closed $3.5 billion in assets to new investors, disregarding the opportunity to collect more fee generating assets, but the decision allowed them to maintain the fund’s flexibility.

• Steve Wymer from Fidelity Growth Company (MUTF:FDGRX)- achieved 17.7% year-to-date return. He is an aggressive growth manager who endured multiple bubbles and bear markets. Under his leadership, the fund beat 90% of its competitors and the Russell 3000 Growth Index since January 1997.

• Bill Frels, Mark Henneman, and Team From Mairs & Power Growth Inv (MUTF:MPGFX)-generated 20.7% year-to-date return by practicing deep, fundamental analysis of every company included in their portfolio, which are less risky than expected.

• Bill Nygren of Oakmark I (MUTF:OAKMX) and Oakmark Select I (MUTF:OAKLX)- managed to generate 19.1% and 19.2% for both funds, respectively. He won the 2001 Domestic Stock Fund Manager of the Year award.

The nominees for the International Stock Fund Manager of the Year include:

• George Evans of Oppenheimer International Growth A (MUTF:OIGAX)- delivered 20.3 % year-to-date return. He invests in companies capable of delivering growth within the next five years. In 2012, the fund generated large gains from European-based companies including SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) (ETR:SAP) (FRA:SAP); Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) (LON:DGE), Inditex SA (MCE:ITX), and Roche Holding Ltd. (PINK:RHHBY) (VTX:ROG).

• Rajiv Jain of Virtus Foreign Opportunities A (MUTF:JVIAX) and Virtus Emerging Markets Opportunities (MUTF:HEMZX)-delivered 21.1% and 19.2% year-to-date returns for both funds, respectively. He is an unconventional fund manager who uses a careful strategy in investing into companies with straightforward and understandable business plans.

• David Samra & Daniel O’Keefe of Artisan International Value Investor (MUTF:ARTKX) and Artisan Global Value Investor (MUTF:ARTGX)- achieved 21.6% and 18.5% year-to-date returns for both funds, respectively. They were previous recipients of the International Stock Fund Manager award for 2008. Some of their stock picks were big winners in 2012 including Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), and HeidelbergCement AG (ETR:HEI) (FRA:HEI).

• Mark Yockey of Artisan International Inv (MUTF:ARTIX) and Artisan International Small Cap Investor (MUTF:ARTJX)- generated 23.9% and 31.3% year-to-date returns for both funds, respectively. He previously won the International Stock Fund Manager award I the late 1990s. He uses a growth-oriented investing strategy.

Meanwhile, the nominees for Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year award include:

• Steve Smith, David Hoffman, Brian Hess and Jack McIntyre of Legg Mason BW Global Opportunities Bd I (MUTF:GOBIX)- generated 12.2% year-to-date return. The team accumulated more than $30 billion fixed-income assets under management over the years across strategies & accounts and managed to deliver excellent returns in several consecutive years.

• Peter Palfrey & Rick Rackowski of Loomis Sayles Core Plus Bond A (MUTF:NEFRX) generated 11.1% year-to-date return. Over the years, the duo recorded excellent long-term returns. They beat the 90% of their competitors last year by shifting into U.S. Treasuries and for shorting at the right time.

• Tad Rivelle, Stephen Kane, & Laird Landmann of Metropolitan West Total Return Bond M (MUTF:MWTRX)- the team achieved 11.2% year-to-date return. The team received multiple nominations in the past including the Fund Manager of the Decade in 2009. Tad Rivelle and his team won the 2005 Fixed-Income Fund Manager Award of the Year.

• Mark Kiesel of PIMCO Investment Grade Corp Bd Instl (MUTF:PIGIX)– delivered 14.7% year-to-date return. The fund benefited from his investments in bonds particularly in building materials as well as financially troubled companies in the gaming, autos, and chemicals industry.

• Mark Egan, Tom Fink, Todd Thompson, & Steve Vincent of Scout Core Plus Bond Instl (MUTF:SCPZX) generated 9,7 year-to date returns. The team managed to achieve outstanding long-term returns and closed $10 billion fixed-income assets.

Morningstar will announce the winners of Fund Manager of Year award for each category in the first week of January next year.