Presented at this year's Morningstar Awards held on Nov. 25 were several new honours for fund managers, most notably the Morningstar Analysts' Choice Steward of the Year. The inaugural winner of this award is EdgePoint Wealth Management Inc. The independent Toronto-based firm, founded by former Trimark managers, launched its mutual-fund family of four funds in November 2008, in the midst of a bear market.
"EdgePoint built top-rated stewardship practices into its DNA right from the get-go," says Christopher Davis, Morningstar's director of manager research. "They kept their line-up simple, avoided expensive marketing to keep costs low, and committed to close funds at conservative asset levels. Heavy co-investment assures alignment with fundholder interests."
EdgePoint's mutual-fund line-up today consists of the same four funds it started out with seven years ago. Two of them -- EdgePoint Global Portfolio and EdgePoint Global Growth & Income Portfolio -- are award winners this year in their fund categories.
"This award is about the alignment of interests between management and our investors. We take that responsibility very seriously," said EdgePoint co-founder and CEO Patrick Farmer, who was joined on stage by fellow team members.
The first recipients of the Morningstar Multi-Asset Fund Manager of the Year award are Geoffrey Stein and David Wolf of Fidelity Investments Canada. The duo's funds managed include Fidelity Global Monthly Income, Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation and Fidelity Monthly Income.
"Stein and Wolf show you don't need to make flashy asset-allocation shifts to succeed," says Davis. "They modestly tilted their portfolios toward U.S. equities and bonds, for example, which helped give it a leg up on its peers. While their asset allocation has been a positive, their funds have also benefited from strong performance from their stock and bond holdings alike."
The other manager awards selected by Morningstar Canada's manager-research team are:
- Morningstar Domestic Equity Fund Manager of the Year, awarded to Jim Hall and Vijay Viswanathan of Mawer Investment Management Ltd. They are co-managers of Mawer Canadian Equity.
- Morningstar's Foreign Equity Fund Manager of the Year, awarded to Richard Jenkins of CI Investments Inc. Jenkins manages CI Black Creek International Equity.
- Morningstar Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year, awarded to the team of Daniel Janis, Thomas Goggins, and Kisoo Park of Manulife Asset Management Ltd. Their mandates include Manulife Strategic Income.
Along with its multi-asset-manager honours, Fidelity picked up awards in the Canadian Small/Midcap Equity and U.S. Small/Midcap Equity categories, and for best fund of funds. As well, for the fifth year in a row, Fidelity is the Advisor's Choice Fund Company of the Year. This award is selected on the basis of a survey of advisors conducted by Investment Executive and Morningstar.
Fellow multiple-award winner Manulife picked up fund awards in the Canadian Balanced, Canadian Dividend & Income Equity and High Yield Fixed-Income categories. Other multiple winners for mutual-fund awards included Mawer, which won in the Global Small/MidCap Equity, International Equity and U.S. Equity categories.
The awards for individual mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and pooled funds were chosen by juries consisting of analysts, including members of Morningstar's research team. The selection process includes quantitative screening, nominations from each jury member, and group discussions. See below for the full list of winning funds, and other category winners in the ETF, pooled fund and industry-award categories.
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| Philip Armstrong accepting the Career Achievement Award | |
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In the awards for ETFs, BMO Global Asset Management Inc. is the winner in two out of the three ETF product categories. BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity (ZLB) won for best equity ETF, and BMO Equal Weight U.S. Healthcare Hedged to CAD (ZUH) for best specialty ETF. The Best Fixed-Income ETF award went to Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. for Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond (VAB). The winner of the Best ETF Initiative is iShares, sponsored by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd., for Helping Investors Navigate Fixed Income. "There isn't any market harder to get right than fixed income," said Warren Collier, head of Canadian iShares, in accepting the award.
In the awards for pooled funds, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. won in three categories for Canadian balanced, global equity and international equity.
The winner of the IFIC Investor Education Award, sponsored by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, is Dynamic Funds for The Snapshots Newcomers Life Event. The online investor-education program is designed to help new Canadians understand and navigate our financial system, with a strong focus on investing and financial planning.
This year's recipient of the Career Achievement Award is Philip Armstrong, a co-founder of the former mutual-fund company Altamira. A direct-seller, Altamira was known for its 1980s and 1990s innovations in investor education, client service and online communications. Armstrong went on to found the financial-services holding company Jovian Capital Corp. Jovian acquired and supported various advice-giving firms, as well as what is now the Horizons family of ETFs.
In the industry categories, a new award judged by a jury of fund industry analysts is Morningstar Breakout Fund Manager of the Year, which recognizes up-and-coming managers with more than three years but less than five years of fund-management experience.
The first recipients are Stephen Groff and Greg Dean of CI Investments Inc. They manage CI Cambridge Pure Canadian Equity, which has received a five-star Morningstar Rating for its historical risk-adjusted performance in the Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity category.
The winner of the Best Online Brokerage award is BMO InvestorLine. It impressed the jury with enhancements including its BMO Market Pro platform for active investors and the BMO Banking and InvestorLine App for iPad, along with its extensive research sources and analytical tools.
In accepting the award, BMO InvestorLine president Julie Barker-Merz said new online services are now in development at BMO. She took a good-natured competitive poke at one of the best known of the new breed of "robo-advice" firms. "To Wealthsimple, look in your rear-view mirror. BMO Blue is on the way."
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| Ed Robertson entertains attendees of the Morningstar Awards | |
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The Best Use of Technology Award winner is Invesco Canada Ltd. for Platform Traded Funds, an innovative, cost-saving trading system for mutual funds sold through fee-based advisors.
The winner of the Canadian Investment Marketing Award is iShares by BlackRock for its iThinking campaign, an educational initiative on how iShares ETFs can be used to achieve various investment goals.
Marking its 21st anniversary of celebrating the Canadian investment industry, the awards gala was held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Ed Robertson, of the popular band, Barenaked Ladies, was the host, master of ceremonies and among the musical entertainers for the more than 500 attendees.
For the sixth year in a row, all proceeds from fees received in connection with submission-based Morningstar awards will be donated to MusiCounts, Canada's music-education charity, which is associated with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science.
- How Morningstar picks fund winners
- EdgePoint wins 2015 Steward of the Year Award
- Fidelity wins 2015 Advisors' Choice Award
- CI wins 2015 Foreign Equity Fund Manager Award
- Manulife wins 2015 Fixed-Income Fund Manager Award
- BMO InvestorLine wins Best Online Brokerage Award (again!)
- 2015 Career Achievement Award: Philip Armstrong
| Morningstar Awards | |
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| Morningstar Domestic Equity Fund Manager of the Year | |
| Jim Hall and Vijay Viswanathan Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Morningstar Foreign Equity Fund Manager of the Year | |
| Richard Jenkins CI Investments Inc. |
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| Morningstar Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year | |
| Daniel Janis, Thomas Goggins and Kisoo Park Manulife Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Morningstar Multi-Asset Fund Manager of the Year | |
| Geoffrey Stein and David Wolf Fidelity Investments Canada |
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| Morningstar Analysts' Choice Steward of the Year | |
| EdgePoint Wealth Management | |
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| Mutual Fund Awards | |
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| Best Canadian Balanced Fund | |
| Manulife Monthly High Income Manulife Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best Canadian Dividend & Income Equity Fund | |
| Manulife Dividend Income Manulife Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best Canadian Equity Fund | |
| CI Cambridge Canadian Equity Corporate Class CI Investments Inc. |
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| Best Canadian Fixed Income Fund | |
| PH&N Total Return Bond RBC Global Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund | |
| Fidelity Special Situations Fidelity Investments Canada |
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| Best Emerging Markets Equity Fund | |
| RBC Emerging Markets Equity RBC Global Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best Fund of Funds | |
| Fidelity Managed Portfolios Fidelity Investments Canada |
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| Best Global Balanced Fund | |
| EdgePoint Global Growth & Income Portfolio EdgePoint Wealth Management Inc. |
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| Best Global Equity Fund | |
| EdgePoint Global Portfolio EdgePoint Wealth Management Inc. |
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| Best Global Fixed Income Fund | |
| Lysander Corporate Value Bond Lysander Funds Ltd. |
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| Best Global Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund | |
| Mawer Global Small Cap Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Best High Yield Fixed-Income Fund | |
| Manulife Strategic Income Manulife Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best International Equity Fund | |
| Mawer International Equity Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Best Specialty Equity Fund | |
| Renaissance Global Health Care CIBC Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best U.S. Equity Fund | |
| Mawer U.S. Equity Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Best U.S. Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund | |
| Fidelity Small Cap America Fidelity Investments Canada |
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| ETF Awards | |
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| Best Equity ETF | |
| BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity BMO Global Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best Fixed Income ETF | |
| Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. |
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| Best Specialty ETF | |
| BMO Equal Weight U.S. Healthcare Hedged to CAD BMO Global Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best ETF Initiative Award | |
| Helping Investors Navigate Fixed Income iShares, BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd. |
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| Pooled Fund Awards | |
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| Best Canadian Balanced Pooled Fund | |
| Burgundy Balanced Pension Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best Canadian Equity Pooled Fund | |
| Mawer Canadian Equity Pooled Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Best Canadian Fixed Income Pooled Fund | |
| PH&N Total Return Bond RBC Global Asset Management Inc. |
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| Best Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity Pooled Fund | |
| CI Cambridge Pure Canadian Equity CI Investments Inc. |
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| Best International Equity Pooled Fund | |
| Burgundy EAFE Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best U.S. Equity Pooled Fund | |
| Beutel Goodman American Equity Beutel, Goodman & Company Ltd. |
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| Best Global Balanced Pooled Fund | |
| Mawer Balanced Pooled Mawer Investment Management Ltd. |
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| Best Global Equity Pooled Fund | |
| Burgundy Global Equity Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. |
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| Best Pooled Fund of Funds Series | |
| Sun Life Granite Target Date Series Sun Life Global Investments (Canada), Inc. |
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| Industry Awards | |
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| Career Achievement Award | |
| Philip Armstrong | |
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| Breakout Fund Manager of the Year | |
| Stephen Groff and Greg Dean CI Investments Inc. |
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| Advisors' Choice Investment Fund Company of the Year | |
| Fidelity Investments Canada | |
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| Best Online Brokerage | |
| BMO InvestorLine CHS Asset Management Inc. |
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| IFIC Investor Education Award | |
| The Snapshots Newcomers Life Event Dynamic Funds |
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| Canadian Investment Marketing Award | |
| iThinking Campaign iShares by BlackRock |
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| Best Use of Technology Award | |
| Platform Traded Funds Invesco Canada Ltd. |
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