The bond-rating agency selected the funds that most consistently achieved the highest overall quantitative ranking in their category, using its proprietary, holdings-based research. The mutual funds had to do more than just outperform their respective peer groups to become finalists. Each also had to demonstrate quality holdings, manager tenure, risk and expense ratios. For this examination, S&P leaned less heavily on backward-looking performance data.
The awards program also includes three finalists in a “New and Notable” category, which acknowledges performance in funds with a less than three-year track record. “New funds are an important part of the mutual fund landscape, and one that we believe deserves recognition,” according to a statement from Stephen Biggar, managing director of global equity research at Standard & Poor’s. Despite a short track record, these new funds have favorable costs and recently held stocks that are currently viewed positively by S&P’s equity research group.
The complete list of nominees: