BRUSSELS, 14 February 2019—Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has released details of the winning funds and fund houses for its 2019 Belgium Fund Awards.

The annual awards recognise the retail funds and fund houses that added the most value for investors within the context of their relevant peer group in 2018 and over longer time periods. Morningstar selects the winners using a quantitative methodology with a qualitative overlay that considers the one-, three-, and five-year performance history of all eligible funds, and adjusts returns for risk using Morningstar Risk, a measure that imposes a higher penalty for downside variation in a fund’s return than it does for upside volatility. 

“This year’s winners have clearly demonstrated their skills and added value for investors. They have not only navigated the European market turbulence of 2018 skillfully, but also outperformed their peers over the past five years without taking undue risk. They are among the best performers within their category, based on their excellent risk-adjusted returns,” said Jeffrey Schumacher, Associate Director of Manager Research for Morningstar Benelux.

The winners of the 2019 Morningstar Belgium Fund Awards are:

       

Fund Category Awards
Best Belgium Equity Fund	AXA B Fund Equity Belgium
Best EUR Allocation Fund	DPAM HORIZON B Balanced Conservative B
Best EUR Fixed-Income Fund	PIMCO GIS Euro Bond Fund EUR Acc (Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Bronze)
Best Europe Equity Fund	MFS Meridian Funds - European Value Fund A1 EUR
Best Global Equity Fund	Investec GSF Global Franchise Melville Douglas SFL Global Equity
Best Global Equity Fund	Comgest Growth World USD Acc

Fund House Awards
Best Fund House: Equity	Unigestion
Best Fund House: Fixed-Income	T. Rowe Price
Best Fund House: Overall	T. Rowe Price

An overview of the winners and a video can be viewed at www.morningstar.be. The Morningstar Belgium Fund Awards winners were announced during a ceremony on 13 February 2019 at the Sheraton Hotel in Brussels. The Morningstar Awards were hosted in cooperation with Trends following the annual Investment Summit.

For more information about the Morningstar Belgium Fund Awards and the awards methodology, please contact benelux.support@morningstar.com or visit https://go.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Awards.   

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

The Morningstar fund category and fund house awards are based on Morningstar fund data as of 31 December 2018. The awards methodology emphasises the one-year period, but funds must also have delivered strong three- and five-year returns after adjusting for risk within the awards peer groups in order to obtain an award. In selecting winners, fund returns are adjusted for risk using Morningstar Risk, a measure which imposes a higher penalty for downside variation in a fund’s return than it does for upside volatility. 

For the full methodology, please click here.

Some of the winning funds hold a Morningstar Analyst Rating. Morningstar Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar’s current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Morningstar’s expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Morningstar does not represent its Analyst Ratings to be guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund’s or the fund’s underlying securities’ creditworthiness.

References to and commentary on the above-mentioned funds should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell that fund. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than US$207 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2018. The company has operations in 27 countries. For more information, visit https://www.morningstar.com/en-nl/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

# # #

Media Contact:
Renske van Amerongen, +31 20 311 9097 or Renske.vanamerongen@morningstar.com

©2019 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.