Dan Fuss, portfolio manager of the Loomis Sayles Bond Fund, was named Outstanding Portfolio Manager by Morningstar Wednesday at the annual Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago. The presentation was featured on CNBC’s Power Lunch program.
The 2019 U.S. Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence recognized portfolio managers, asset management firms and up-and-coming managers who have demonstrated the industry's very best attributes, including investment skill, the courage to differ from the consensus to benefit investors, and an interest aligned with those of investors, according to a Morningstar news release.
Chicago-based Morningstar selected winners in three categories: “Outstanding Portfolio Manager,” “Exemplary Stewardship” and “Rising Talent.”
Fuss, Morningstar said, pioneered the benchmark-agnostic, multi-sector approach to fixed-income that has defined his firm’s flagship Loomis Sayles Bond Fund, which has held a Morningstar analyst rating of “silver” since 1991.
Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's director of manager research, North America, said, “Fuss has demonstrated a value-driven, often contrarian and aggressive strategy that has contributed to an impressive long-term record for the fund and its siblings."
Morningstar’s “Exemplary Stewardship” category winner was Vanguard Group. Vanguard has created a unique corporate structure that has made it a standout steward of capital since its mid-1970s origins, Morningstar said. The firm's U.S. funds (and indirectly their shareholders) jointly own Vanguard, allowing a commitment to rock-bottom fees and sensible investment strategies. Vanguard has had a broad influence on the U.S. asset-management industry through its indexing, no-load distribution and lowered costs for investment management.
The Rising Talent nod went to James Marchetti of the PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressive Growth fund (POAGX) and five additional strategies. All six strategies receive a Morningstar analyst rating of “gold.” PRIMECAP has long invested heavily in biotech stocks, and successful biotech picks have been a major factor in the outstanding performance of growth equity boutique PRIMECAP's six strategies during Marchetti's tenure at the firm, Morningstar said (despite contributing occasional headaches). Marchetti, Lutton said, represents the next generation of talented investors at the firm.
“Our 2019 winners have been great drivers of investor success," said Lutton. "The managers and firm selected all have one thing in common: They are investing and operating for the long haul by maintaining value-oriented strategies that stay true to client interests instead of their own."
Morningstar has granted annual awards to accomplished portfolio managers since 1988. The Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence winners are chosen on research and in-depth qualitative evaluation by Morningstar's manager research group.