Morningstar Honors L.A. Fund Managers

It was a good year to be a bond mutual fund manager in Southern California.

The team overseeing the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan West Total Return Bond fund was named fixed-income fund manager of 2005 by investment research firm Morningstar Inc. on Wednesday.

The runner-up among bond fund managers was Jeffrey Gundlach, who headed the TCW Galileo Total Return Bond fund, also based in Los Angeles, Morningstar said.

The Chicago firm, best known for its fund ratings, said the Metropolitan West team of Tad Rivelle, Laird Landman, Stephen Kane and David Lippman “deftly manages its fixed-income assets, producing great results.” The $1.4-billion fund gained 3.1% last year, beating 95% of its peer funds, Morningstar said.

Christopher Davis and Kenneth Feinberg, who run the Davis New York Venture Fund, were named U.S. stock fund managers of the year. The top team among international stock fund managers: Robert Lyon, Matthew Pickering and Jerrold Senser of the ICAP International Fund.