Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year: Michael Collins, Robert Tipp, Richard Piccirillo, and Gregory Peters, Prudential Total Return Bond (PDBZX)

2017 Return: 6.6 percent

2017 Morningstar Categor Rank (percentile): 2

10-Year Annualized Return: 6.0 percent

10-Year Morningstar Category Rank (percentile): 1

Morningstars Analyst Rating: Silver

Of all the winners, the Prudential Total Return Bond Fund had the highest percentile rankings for both 2017 and for the last decade. It was in the top 1 percent of all funds in its category for the last 10 years.  

According to Morningstar, the fund runs nearly $700 billion in assets. Chief investment Officer Mike Lillard's background in risk management has benefited the team in utlizing key resources for risk guidelines. The four senior investors bring over 23 years of experience to develop the portfolio across "sectors and disciplines of 125 portfolio managers, 100 analysts and 50 quanitative professionals."

"Their collaborative approach shows in the fund's underlying methodology and overall process. With a methodical approach, strong risk controls, and robust security valuation, we expect that this team will continue to do well,”said Lutton.

The fund has a gold rating. Giroux previously won Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year in 2012, according to Morningstar.