Christopher Davis and Ken Charles
Feinberg, managers of the Selected American Shares and Davis NY Venture
A funds, have been named 2005 domestic-stock managers of the year by
Morningstar.
Also, Tad Rivelle, Laird Landmann, Stephen Kane and
David Lippman of the Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund were
named fixed-income managers of the year.
Robert Lyon, Matthew Pickering and Jerrold Senser of
the ICAP International fund were named international-stock managers of
the year.
In selecting Davis and Feinberg, Morningstar noted
they beat the S&P 500 Index by 5% with a financials-heavy
portfolio, despite a year of rising interest rates.
The duo was also cited for reigning in transaction
costs and taxes, avoiding short-term bets and keeping expenses low.
"This firm sets the bar for others in the industry,"
said Kunal Kapoor, director of mutual fund analysis for Morningstar.
"At a time when other firms don't always do what is best for their
shareholders, it's refreshing to see a firm so committed to the
long-term welfare of fundholders."
The MetWest team was cited for being nimbly managed.
Morningstar noted the fund bulked up on "the high-yield, bank-loan and
other specialty areas of the bond market to help Total Return Bond
return more than 3%-topping 95% of its peer group."
On the international front, the ICAP
International team led by Lyon was credited with converting the fund
from a European fund to one with a broad foreign stock mandate. This
enabled the fund to invest in Japanese companies, which rallied in
2005. The fund was also lauded for its low fee-at 0.80%-and for
maintaining consistent performance with the help of a low staff
turnover.
"In hindsight, ICAP International's transition from
a Europe-only portfolio to a diversified international fund seems
perfectly timed," Kapoor said. "We're pleased to see such a decision be
driven by an investment rationale rather than marketing considerations."