Morningstar Announces Winners for 2019 Fund Manager of the Year Awards

September 6, 2019

LONDON, 6th September 2019—Morningstar UK Limited, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has announced the winners of this year’s Outstanding Fund Manager and Rising Talent Awards. The annual Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Awards, now in its 13th year, took place on 5th September at Sea Containers Events recognising individual fund managers and fund groups that have made a substantial contribution to investors’ success as selected by Morningstar’s Manager Research analysts.

The 2019 winners are:

  • Outstanding Fund Manager

Jim Leaviss, M&G Global Macro Bond

  • Rising Talent

Laura Foll (co-manager), Lowland Investment Trust

  • Outstanding Investment House

Baillie Gifford

Jonathan Miller, Director of UK Manager Research for Morningstar, comments: “The past twelve months have been characterised by the markets being mired in volatility, the political uncertainty of Brexit and mounting pressure on the industry to drive down costs. Against this backdrop, our 2019 winners still were able to generate solid returns in tough market conditions.

“Jim Leaviss, Head of M&G’s Retail Fixed Interest team, has won the prestigious Outstanding Fund Manager Award. We look to this category to identify the investor we see as remarkable, both in terms of style and approach, who stood above peers with exceptional returns over the longer term. During his career at M&G, Leaviss has been involved in managing 12 of the 21 strategies that team currently runs and now focuses his attention on the M&G Global Macro Bond fund which he has run in its various guises since its inception in 1999. The fund has delivered 250% to investors during his tenure, ahead of 195% for the Global Bond Morningstar Category and 164% for the IA Global Bond sector. Leaviss was also instrumental in the launch of the team’s widely read blog which serves to demystify a complex and ever-changing asset class, and keep investors up to date with the team’s views. Having started in late 2006, the commitment shown to the blog throughout the financial crisis and thereafter cannot be understated and had an impact on many investors.

“Laura Foll, Fund Manager on the Global Equity Income Team at Janus Henderson Investors, a position she has held since 2014, won our Rising Talent Award. Foll joined Henderson in 2009 as part of the graduate scheme. She was subsequently named a global analyst and in recognition of her input was appointed fund comanager in November 2016 (she has been comanager on the similarly managed Janus Henderson UK Equity & income OEIC since June 2014). We think that the partnership has substantial merit for shareholders, marrying differing and complementary skills and is an affirmative development which will bear fruit for investors.

“Baillie Gifford was recognised for the Outstanding Investment House Award. Baillie Gifford stood out for its commitment to long-term investing, competitive fees, and stability in its investment teams, all of which serve the interests of investors.”

The awards draw on Morningstar’s qualitative Manager Research, which uses a globally consistent five-pillar methodology to ascertain a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ for funds under coverage. The five pillars in the Morningstar Analyst Rating methodology are Process, People, Parent, Performance, and Price.

- Ends -

Notes to Editors

Morningstar assigns a Morningstar Analyst Rating to funds using a five-tiered rating scale of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. Morningstar Medalists—those funds that have received a Gold, Silver, or Bronze rating—are funds that Morningstar analysts determine are likely to outperform their peer groups and/or relevant benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over a market cycle of at least five years. Morningstar does not charge asset managers to research and rate their funds. For more information about Morningstar’s Manager Research and ratings, please visit https://go.morningstar.com/five_pillars_research.

For the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Awards methodology, please click here.

About Morningstar UK Limited and 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 about US$220 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2019. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc

Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar analysts’ 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. This press release is for informational purposes only; it should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the mutual funds noted within.

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