Morningstar : Announces Nominees for 2015 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year Awards

CHICAGO, Jan. 11, 2016-Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the nominees for its 2015 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year awards. The awards acknowledge managers who not only delivered impressive performance in 2015, but also showed excellent long-term risk-adjusted returns and were good stewards of fund shareholders' capital. To recognize outstanding fund managers each year, Morningstar selects leaders in five categories: domestic stock, international stock, fixed income, allocation, and alternatives.

The nominees for the 2015 Fund Manager of the Year awards in the United States are:

Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:
• Keith Lee, Robert Hall, Kempton Ingersol, Damien Davis, and Andrew Fones, Brown Capital Management Small Company (BCSIX)
• William Bell IV, W. Matthew Hereford, and Charles Reed, Eaton Vance Atlanta Capital SMID-Cap (EAASX)
• Spiros 'Sig' Segalas, Michael Del Balso, and Kathleen McCarragher, Harbor Capital Appreciation (HACAX) and Prudential Jennison Growth (PJFAX)
• Brian Berghuis, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth (RPMGX)

International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year:
• Robert Lovelace and team, American Funds New Perspective (ANWPX)
• Rajeev Bhaman, Oppenheimer Global (OPPAX)
• George Evans and Robert Dunphy, Oppenheimer International Growth (OIGYX)

Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year:
• Jerome Schneider and team, PIMCO Short-Term (PTSHX)
• Ken Leech, Carl Eichstaedt, Mark Lindbloom, Michael Buchanan, and team, Western Asset Core Bond (WATFX) and Western Asset Core Plus Bond (WACPX)

Allocation Fund Manager of the Year:
• David Giroux, T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX)
• John Keogh and Michael Reckmeyer, Vanguard Wellesley Income (VWINX)

Alternatives Fund Manager of the Year:
• Jay Feeney and Eric Connerly, Boston Partners Long/Short Research (BPIRX)
• Guy Stern, John Hancock Global Absolute Return Strategies (JHAIX)
• James Troyer, Michael Roach, and James Stetler, Vanguard Market Neutral (VMNIX)

'Throughout 2015, domestic-stock funds wavered in light of depressed energy prices and the anticipation of rising interest rates. International-stock funds faced headwinds including weakness in commodities as well as parts of the global economy, and bond funds saw particularly weak results and a fair amount of volatility,' Jon Hale, Morningstar's director of manager research, North America, said. 'Despite these difficulties, our Fund Manager of the Year nominees stood out with superior performance during 2015, continuing in each case to build on their successful long-term records.'

Morningstar plans to announce its 2015 U.S. Fund Manager of the Year award winners on Jan. 26 live on CNBC's 'Power Lunch' program. For highlights about the Morningstar U.S. Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award nominees, visit http://www.morningstar.com/goto/fmoy2015-nominees. Morningstar will highlight the nominees for the other four categories on Morningstar.com during the next two weeks.

Established in 1988, the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award recognizes portfolio managers who demonstrate excellent investment skill and the courage to differ from the consensus to benefit investors. To qualify for the award, managers' funds must have not only posted impressive returns for the year, but the managers also must have a record of delivering outstanding long-term risk-adjusted performance and of aligning their interests with shareholders'. Nominated funds must be Morningstar Medalists-a fund that has garnered a Morningstar Analyst Rating™ of Gold, Silver, or Bronze. The Fund Manager of the Year award winners are chosen based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth qualitative evaluation by its fund analysts. For more information about Morningstar Awards, visit http://corporate1.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Awards/.

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, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $170 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2015. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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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