Which Fund Managers Stood Out in 2015?

If

In response to my query in Morningstar.com's Discuss forum about which managers deserve consideration for Morningstar's Fund Manager of the Year nominations and honors, Giroux received the most mentions by far. Giroux backers pointed to the now-closed moderate-allocation fund's string of excellent returns, including a 5.4% 2015 gain that landed it in its category's top 1% in last year's challenging market climate.

Readers shared favorites within other categories, too. The discussion of potential Fixed-Income Fund Manager of the Year winners was particularly lively, as readers debated the virtues of established managers running giant funds as well as lesser-known skippers.

To read the complete thread or to share the names of the fund managers you think are worthy of the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award, click here. Morningstar will announce the names of its winning managers on Morningstar.com and CNBC on Jan. 26.

'The Best Overall Fund With the Best Manager. Period.' Giroux's backers came out early and in force. Cegibbs kicked things off by noting that "his record and consistency are remarkable."

Numerous posters lauded Giroux's ability to adjust to changing market conditions, which has helped his fund deliver remarkably smooth performance. Hdw4567 said that "when things get rocky in the markets [Giroux] can keep the ship afloat and gets a good amount of the upside when the markets are chugging along."

That Giroux has managed to deliver despite the fund's size also sparked comment. Rich2884 noted that "the fund has actually done even better versus its moderate-allocation category since the fund closed to new investors in June 2014."

Other allocation-fund managers had their boosters, though.

Rathgar

suggested that the team at

cegibbs

, Ramin Arani at

Rogern

and

OceanMinded

both touted Bruce Fund BRUFX as worthy of note among allocation managers.

OceanMinded

also gave a shout-out to conservative-allocation fund

'It's an Aggressive Winner' Last year was a challenging one for equity investors, with the S&P 500 flatlining for the year. But growth stocks managed better results, so it's probably not surprising that posters tended to cite growth-leaning managers as worthy of consideration for Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year honors.

Healthcare managers received repeat mentions.

Funkywatusi

, for example, nominated

HAILERS, meanwhile, put forth Rajiv Kaul of Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio FBIOX as a domestic-equity contender. Thanks to its narrow focus on a red-hot part of the market (or at least it was until recently; biotech has dropped like a rock so far in 2016), the fund's absolute and relative returns are outstanding.

Posters also enthused about various growth-leaning diversified domestic-equity funds.

Amwendel

nominated

Rogern

seconded the nod for Fidelity OTC, but also found

Several growth-oriented T. Rowe Price domestic-equity managers received mentions as well. A few posters named Brian Berghuis of

Rightismight

believes

Rathgar believes that Michael Carmen, who manages Hartford Growth Opportunities HGOAX, a large-growth fund, merits more attention. "He has been flying under the radar for a long time," Rathgar wrote.

The team at the closed

Rogern

;

OceanMinded

also views the fund as worthy of consideration.

'The Energizer Bunny of Funds' Posters didn't have as many nominees in the international-equity and alternatives groups--probably not surprising that these groups were generally disappointing in 2015.

Yet, the management team that stood out most for

skipperchg

does, in fact, hold most of its portfolio overseas, and that's the group running

The managers of Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Portfolio GLFOX,

On the alternatives side, just one team's name came up: the team running AQR Equity Market Neutral QMNIX and AQR Long-Short Equity QLEIX. In a year in which stocks and bonds were trending sideways, both funds posted double-digit gains in 2015.

'A Definite Frontrunner'

Among bond-fund managers, Dan Ivascyn, manager of

Dtconroe wrote, "[The PIMCO Income managers] actively manage and adjust their portfolio over the years to stay competitive, even when its assets under management have grown to over $50 billion." Racqueteer seconded Ivascyn's nomination, calling him a "definite frontrunner."