The number of years that the current manager has been the portfolio manager of the fund. For funds with more than one manager, the tenure of the manager who has been with the fund the longest is shown. If there is only one manager, who has been at the fund for less than six months (and for whom we have biographical information available), a dash will appear. If the fund designates the manager as a Management Team and does not disclose the names of the portfolio manager or co-portfolio managers to Morningstar, Manager Tenure will appear as a dash for the fund.
Benefits
Fund management is clearly an important variable in fund performance. If you buy a fund for its long-term performance, for example, you’ll want to be sure that the manager responsible for the good record is still at his or her post. Likewise, if an improvement in fund performance correlates with the arrival of a new manager, investors should downplay the fund’s previous record and focus on what is performance may be attributed to the new management.
Origin
This information is taken directly from the fund prospectus, fund surveys, and official company press releases, and is updated as needed by the fund contact person.
For the Pros
Another consideration in selecting a fund is whether an individual or a committee management structure is used. Some fund companies effectively employ a team approach, such as the American Funds Group family. However, sometimes when fund companies refuse to tell who manages the fund, the link between cause and effect is blurred, thereby denying shareholders information that is vital for proper evaluation of the fund. While some funds effectively employ team management strategies (especially those that have highly disciplined buy and sell rules) investors should be wary of any fund that refuses to report the names of its manager(s). That’s not the type of policy that indicates great concern for shareholder interests.