Managers honoured at 2015 Morningstar Awards

Jim Hall and Vijay Viswanathan, Mawer Canadian Equity, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. won the Domestic Equity Fund Manager of the Year.

“Managers Jim Hall and Vijay Viswanathan benefited from their historical aversion to energy and basic materials stocks,” said Christopher Davis, director of manager research for Morningstar Canada, in a statement. “Their focus on high-quality investments and big winners like Constellation Software kept their fund comfortably in the black as most of their peers suffered losses. Their long-term risk-adjusted performance is extraordinary.”

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Richard Jenkins, CI Black Creek International Equity, CI Investments Inc., was the winner in the Foreign Equity Fund Manager of the Year category.

“Richard Jenkins pushed ahead of the pack by investing differently than the competition,” Davis said. “Picks like brick maker Weinerberger and packaging producer Gerresheimer don’t appear in many rival portfolios. The success of names like these led to terrific performance this year, and more importantly, over the long term.”

Daniel Janis, Thomas Goggins, and Kisoo Park, Manulife Strategic Income, Manulife Asset Management Ltd., won in the Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year category.

“Dan Janis, Thomas Goggins, and Kisoo Park got some big calls right,” Davis said. “They gave their portfolio a conservative bent and positioned it for Canadian dollar weakness–moves that paid off nicely this year. Savvy decisions like these are nothing new for the team, explaining their success over the long haul.”

Multi-Asset Fund Manager of the Year, one of several awards introduced this year, was won by by Geoffrey Stein and David Wolf, Fidelity Global Monthly Income, Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation, and Fidelity Monthly Income, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.

“Managers Geoffrey Stein and David Wolf show you don’t need to make flashy asset allocation shifts to succeed,” says Davis said. “They modestly tilted their portfolios toward US equities and bonds, for example, which helped them beat their peers. While their asset allocation has been a positive, their funds have also benefited from strong performance of their stock and bond holdings alike.”

Breakout Fund Manager of the Year, another award introduced this year, went to Stephen Groff and Greg Dean, CI Cambridge Pure Canadian Equity Fund, CI Investments Inc.

EdgePoint Wealth Management, Inc. won the inaugural Morningstar Analysts’ Choice Steward of the Year award.


“EdgePoint built top-rate stewardship practices into its DNA right from the beginning,” Davis said. “The firm kept its lineup simple, avoided expensive marketing to keep costs low, and committed to close funds at conservative asset levels. Heavy co-investment from EdgePoint managers assures alignment with fund holder interests.”

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC won the Advisors’ Choice Investment Fund Company of the Year. This award is selected on the basis of a survey of advisors conducted by Investment Executive and Morningstar Canada.

This year’s winner of the Career Achievement award was Philip Armstrong., a co-founder of the former mutual-fund company Altamira.

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The 21st annual awards gala honoured more than 40 individuals and companies that Morningstar believes have made a difference in the lives of investors.

The awards encompass a wide range of investment products, including mutual funds and pooled funds. Additional awards recognize outstanding individual managers, online brokerages, investor education, and marketing campaigns. The awards program represents an extensive, year-long evaluation of dozens of firms and industry individuals by analysts and experienced jury members.

For a complete list of mutual fund, ETF and submission based awards, click here.