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February22, 2021 BARRON’S 15
It startedwith an idea: to build an investmentbusiness
with two thingsin mind—consistentgrowth and our clients’
challengesto achieveit. It was calledMainStayFunds.
Three decadeslater,the principlesof consistency,longevity
and trust aremoreapparent than ever.Today,MainStay
Fundsis workingto deliverthe right opportunitiesfor our
clientswith insightand perspectivefrom anetworkof global,
independentboutiques.The MainStayFundsstory is only
part of the full New York Life Investmentsstory—astory
that adds up to morethan $600 billionin AUM.And it’sa
story that exemplifiesthe strengthof atrue client-investor
relationship.One that was definedby our parent, New York
Life InsuranceCompany,morethan 175 years ago.
To learnmoregoto newyorklifeinvestments.com
.
Youmay knowthe
name,MainStay Funds.
Butyou maynotknow
thefullstory.
Considerthe Funds’investmentobjectives,risks,chargesand expensescarefullybeforeinvesting.The prospectus,or summaryprospectus,
and the statementof additionalinformationincludethis and otherrelevantinformationaboutthe Fundsand are availableby visiting
newyorklifeinvestments.comor by calling800-624-6782.Readthe prospectuscarefullybeforeinvesting.
Assetsundermanagementasof December31,2020.“NewYorkLifeInvestments”is bothaservicemark,andthecommontradename,of certaininvestmentadvisorsaffiliatedwithNewYorkLifeInsuranceCompany.
TheMainStayFunds
®aremanagedbyNewYorkLifeInvestmentManagementLLCanddistributedthroughNYLIFEDistributorsLLC,awhollyownedsubsidiaryofNewYorkLifeInsuranceCompany.
NYLIFEDistributorsLLCis aMemberFINRA/SIPC. 1842026
More than investing. Invested.
26 BARRON’SFebruary22, 2021
If evertherewasayearforactive
managerstoprove theirmettle,itwas
lastyear.Granted,investorswhorodeit
outinanindexfundwouldhave done
justfine:TheVanguardS&P 500
ETF(ticker: VOO) returned18%in
2020.Butit wasawildyearformany
active funds—especiallythemorethan
twodozenstockfundsthatreturnedat
least100%inwhatisalmostcertainly
afirstinthehistoryoftheindustry.
Record-settingreturnshelpedpro-
pel many of the top-ranked fund fami-
lies up the leaderboard in this year’s
Barron’sFund Family Ranking, based
on data from Refinitiv Lipper. But that
wasn’t the case for every company. In
fact, the No. 1-ranked fund family,
Manning & Napier, credits its strong
performanceto asset allocation. The
runner-up, GuggenheimInvestments,
took its spot thanks to a bold call on
the bond market.
The next two firms, No. 3-ranked
Vanguardand Fidelity Investments
at No. 4, are both massive fund com-
plexes but quite different when it
comes to their actively managed stock
funds: Vanguardrelies primarily on
outside advisors,while Fidelity has
one of the largest in-houseresearch
teams in the business.
Roundingout the top five, No. 5-
ranked Morgan Stanley Investment
Management—which debuted on our
rankingin 2019 at No. 47—made its
mark in 2020 thanks largely to its
Counterpoint Global team, which ush-
ered five different funds to returns
exceeding100% for the year.
As has been the case for the past
twodecades,Barron’sFund Family
Rankinglooksatthe one-year relative
performanceof fund firms thatoffer a
diversified lineupofactively managed
mutual funds and ETFs. Theranking
eliminates index funds, so results are
based on firms’ skill in active manage-
ment. Therankingitself is purely
quantitative,yet behindthe fund tick-
ers and track recordsare individuals.
They all have their ownstories of relo-
cating to home offices and contending
with differentstrokes of personal
disruption—du ring the worstmarket
selloff in historyand one of the fastest
The Best Fund Families of 2020
Our annualrankingof how fund companiesfared in theiractively
managedfunds helpsexplaina highlyunusualyear in the markets
“Whenthere’s
volatility,
there’s the
potential
to benefit.”
EbrahimBusheri,
Manning&NapierA
t this point, 2020 needs
no introduction.In a sin-
gle year, the Covid-19 pan-
demic claimed millions
of lives aroundthe world
and wiped out trillions
of dollars from the global
economy. It changed the way most
peoplework and live, and has left
a lasting imprint on virtually every
industry—inc luding the asset manage-
ment firms that collectively oversee
about $29 trillionin mutual funds and
exchange-traded funds.
BySARAHMAX
IllustrationbyLARSLEETARU