The company says that its annual Morningstar UK Fund Awards are designed to help investors identify the retail funds and fund groups that added the most value for investors within the context of their relevant peer group in 2015 and over longer time periods.

Morningstar selects the winners using a quantitative methodology with a qualitative overlay that considers the one, three, and five-year performance history of all eligible funds, and adjusts returns for risk using Morningstar Risk, a measure that imposes a higher penalty for downside variation in a fund’s return than it does for upside volatility.

Christopher Traulsen, CFA, Morningstar’s director of manager research for EMEA, said: “When compared to peers, all of our winners delivered strong results in 2015 and over the five years ended 31 December after taking risk into account.”

“These funds and fund houses have demonstrated that they have the ability to earn strong returns over the long-term without undue risk. We believe that taking a patient, long-term view to investing will ultimately help investors reach their financial goals.”

The winners of the Morningstar UK Fund Awards 2016 are: