Financial Advisor magazine is pleased to announce the winners of its Mutual Fund Madness Tournament, in which more than 700 advisors participated.

The best-performing mutual funds in the contest were Pimco Fundamental Index (PXTIX) in the equity bracket and Delaware Extended Duration Bond (DEEIX) in the bond bracket. FA's Mutual Fund Madness Tournament ran for six weeks, from Feb. 25 through April 5. The performance of the funds was noted at the end of each week and PXTIX and DEEIX are the top two "final" funds.

“Despite the short-term nature of the event, we believe that Mutual Fund Madness fits in perfectly with our mission to assist our readers (advisors and gatekeepers) with innovative strategies and ideas to better serve their clients, through creative use of our print, online and conference offerings,” according to David R. Smith, founding publisher of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines.
 
“We also believe that short-term performance is usually irrelevant, and flies in the face of what most fund companies and advisors want to stress to investors, but we crafted the tournament to reinforce the importance of the selection process—the research and analysis required to make sound, long-term investment decisions from a wide variety of choices. The (short-term) competition was a light-hearted attempt to reward advisors and gatekeepers for engaging in the research process. It also rewarded participants by exposing them to funds and managers they may have never otherwise considered, and rewarded the funds by calling attention to their offerings.”

Davis McFarlane, a financial consultant in Denver with Matter Family Office, was the overall winner. FA's Mutual Fund Madness Tournament is modeled on the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, which finished its 2013 contest on April 8 with a win by the Louisville Cardinals. As the winner of FA's mutual fund contest, McFarlane will receive two tickets to next year's tournament.

McFarlane won the overall contest by predicting bond mutual funds with the best performance over several weeks. His standings were not only the highest in the bond bracket, but also bested all equity game participants.

The second-place overall winner was Sean Movelle, a director of financial security support in Downers Grove, Ill., for Northwestern Mutual. As the second-place winner, Movelle will receive an Apple iPad. Movelle came in first in the equity bracket.

Nine winners, who came in 2nd through 10th place in each of the bond and equity categories will receive Beats headphones by Dr. Dre.

In bonds, the nine winners were Robin Lawson, LaGrange, Ken., Financial Solutions Inc.; Michael Newman, Livingston, N.J., Acorn Financial Services; Joseph Globensky, Plano, Texas, Level Four Advisory Services LLC; John Cornell, Carlton, N.Y., Merrill Lynch Asset Management; Ryan Wegman, Rochester, N.Y., Hornor Townsend and Kend; Jason Burley, Grants Pass, Ore., Thrivent Financial for Lutherans; Rodney Nelson, Galveston, Texas, Lifestyle Investment Solutions; Nathaniel Hester, Knoxville, Tenn., Morgan Keegan; and Ed Sjonell, Scotch Plains, N.J., SagePoint Securities Brokerage.

In equities, the nine winners were David Denham, Lawton, Okla., Merrill Lynch; Jevon Webster, Sacramento, Calif., Lighthouse; Dale Goff, Charleston, W.Va., Ameriprise; Robin Lawson, LaGrange, Ken., Financial Solutions Inc.; Robert Wainscott, Richmond, Va., Davenport and Company; Kevin Bankerd, Tomball, Texas, HBeck; Brad Courts, Atlanta, Atlantic Investment Company; and Anthony Dastice, Phoenix, LPL Financial.

Financial Advisor is a monthly magazine read by 100,000 independent advisors and has been rated the most widely read publication for independent reps and RIAs. Private Wealth is a bi-monthly magazine with a 30,000 circulation that exclusively targets advisors, service providers and other centers of influence that cater to the financial, legal, insurance/risk management and lifestyle demands of the ultra-affluent. CFPN also produces webinars and conferences for financial service industry professionals.