Jerome T. Clark of T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Baltimore, has been named outstanding portfolio manager for 2020 by Morningstar Inc. based on his pioneering work in target-date funds.
"Jerome Clark helped build the firm's target-date franchise from its beginning in 2002 to today, overseeing its shift from a straightforward mix of U.S. stocks and bonds to a globally diversified portfolio," said Sarah Bush, Morningstar's director of manager research, North America, in a news release announcing the award.
"Clark believes the biggest risk retirees face is a savings shortfall, and a high equity weighting helps combat that risk," Ms. Bush said.
Mr. Clark, a company vice president, is a portfolio manager in the T. Rowe Price multiasset division and co-manager of the asset allocation target-date strategies. He also oversees the college savings plan portfolios.
T. Rowe Price had $242.2 billion in target-date fund assets under management and $13.7 billion in the college 529 Program assets under management as of March 31.
"It's a distinct honor to receive Morningstar's outstanding portfolio manager award," Mr. Clark said in a June 22 news release from T. Rowe Price. "The success of our target-date franchise is a collaborative effort that involves the work of fund management and the support of senior management, client and consultant relations, and others."
Mr. Clark has spent his entire 28-year investment career at T. Rowe Price, joining as a quantitative analyst in the fixed-income division. He was the portfolio manager of the U.S. Treasury long-term bond strategy from 1998 through 2003.
Morningstar has announced awards for outstanding portfolio managers since 1988 based on evaluations by the firm's researchers of an individual or portfolio team "who has produced exceptional returns over the long term," according to the award guidelines.
For the 15 years ended June 30, eight of nine vintages in the T. Rowe Price target-date series placed first among peers in annualized returns, Morningstar said.
T. Rowe Price announced in September 2019 that Mr. Clark will relinquish day-to-day portfolio management duties in January 2021. He will remain at T. Rowe Price to "focus on strategic initiatives for the multiasset division and target-date franchise," said a news release at the time.
