Morningstar Picks Top Fund Managers of 2002

For steering well through tough markets, the skippers of three mutual funds won Morningstar Inc.’s manager-of-the-year awards Thursday.

Joel Tillinghast of Fidelity Low-Priced Stock, Rudolph-Riad Younes and Richard Pell of Julius Baer International Equity and the 11-member team at Dodge & Cox Income were picked in the U.S. stock, international stock and fixed-income categories, respectively.

Tillinghast, whom Morningstar called “one of the best managers in the history of funds,” has consistently kept his $15-billion portfolio ahead of more nimble competition. The fund lost 6.2% last year while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 23.4%.

Among bond funds, Dodge & Cox Income, up 10.8% last year, has beaten its peer average in every rolling 12-month period over a 10-year stretch. Management focuses on bond selection rather than big bets on the direction of interest rates, Morningstar said.

Younes and Pell of Julius Baer follow a bolder strategy than the other winners, but they have produced steady returns as well. The fund has beaten its category average for seven years. In 2002 it lost 3.1%.