Three portfolio managers and a Lone Star State fund firm won big today, receiving awards from the folks at a publicly traded investment research giant.

David Gilbert Booth Dimensional Fund Advisors Executive Chairman, Co-Founder

This morning, Tim Strauts, head of manager research for North America at Morningstar, revealed the four winners of the 2025 U.S. Morningstar Awards for Investing Excellence. Those winners are: Fidelity's Will Danoff, T. Rowe Price's David Giroux, Artisan Partners' Bryan Krug, and Dimensional Fund Advisors itself. The revelation comes three weeks after the M* team unveiled the nine PM nominees and eight fund firm nominees that were in the running for the awards this year, their seventh annual iteration.

Austin-based DFA won the 2025 "exemplary stewardship" award, a firmwide award. The 44-year-old firm now has $786 billion in AUM* and more than 1,600 employees across 15 offices around the world. M*'s Tony Thomas praises DFA for having "stayed true to its academic roots" while also being "willing to adapt."

"A key element of its stewardship is its work to educate advisors and investeors and help them look to the long term," Thomas writes of DFA.

Giroux, chief investment officer and head of investment strategy for T. Rowe Price Investment Management and PM of the $65.6-billion-AUM** T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund, won M*'s 2025 "oustanding allocation portfolio manager" award. Thomas notes that Giroux has had an "awe-inspiring, 19-year run" atop that fund and that Giroux is a threepeater; Giroux previously won Morningstar "fund manager of the year" awards for 2012 and 2018. (That award program was the predecessor to M*'s current "awards for investing excellence" program.)

"Deft security selection, nimble moves across asset classes and sectors, and a bold contrarianism have put T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation in rarefied air," Thomas writes.

Steph Jackson, head of T. Rowe Price Investment Management, highlights Giroux's "passion, commitment, and dedication for both the investing profession and delivering the strongest outcomes possible for his clients."

"This award is well deserved and a wonderful reflection of David's intellect, talent, and remarkably consistent success over a long period of time," Jackson states. "On behalf of his colleagues, I congratulate David on his selection, and I thank Morningstar for recognizing his achievements."

"I'm deeply grateful to Morningstar for this award and I congratulate my fellow nominees in the Allocation category for a job well done," Giroux states. Although this honor is bestowed on me, I share it with the organization and members of my team who work so diligently every day for our clients."

Krug, PM of the $9.466-billion-AUM** Artisan High Income Fund and the $88-million-AUM** Artisan Floating Rate Fund, won the 2025 "outstanding fixed income portfolio manager. M*'s Thomas notes Krug's prior PMing stint with Waddell & Reed and Ivy and describes the PM's 11 years and counting with Artisan as "another successful run."

"He's surrounded himself with a talented team, and together they’ve tactfully selected corporate bonds and bank loans to build a concentrated, potent portfolio," Thomas writes. "Splicing together his record over his Waddell & Reed and Artisan tenures, Krug stands out as a top high-yield bond investor."

Danoff, vice president and longtime PM of the $166.65-billion-AUM*** Fidelity Contrafund, won M*'s 2025 "outstanding equity portfolio manager" award. Thomas calls Danoff "an old-school stock-picker who's still among the best in his class" and notes that Danoff has PMed the Contrafund for nearly 35 years.

"Almost all of Contrafund’s success owes to Danoff, who ran the fund alone until earlier this year," Thomas writes. "Danoff is arguably one of the last — and best — star equity-fund managers."

*As of March 31, 2025.

**As of May 31, 2025.

***As of June 30, 2025 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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