CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced Morningstar Analyst Rating™ changes for several U.S. funds. The Morningstar Analyst Rating for funds represents Morningstar's conviction in the fund's ability to outperform on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. The five-tiered, qualitative Morningstar Analyst Rating scale has three positive levels, indicating Morningstar Medalists—Gold, Silver, and Bronze—in addition to Neutral and Negative ratings.
In August, Morningstar analysts upgraded 13 U.S. fund ratings, downgraded two fund ratings, and assigned four new ratings. As of Aug. 31, 2014, 157 U.S. funds had a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, 289 funds had a Silver rating, 331 funds were rated Bronze, 336 funds had a Neutral rating, and 40 funds were rated Negative. Approximately 10 percent of mutual funds available for sale in the United States are currently Morningstar Medalists. Morningstar's manager research team covers about $8 trillion of U.S. investor assets, which is equivalent to approximately 70 percent of total investor assets in the United States.
Morningstar upgraded the following U.S. mutual funds in August:
- Principal LifeTime 2010, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2015, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2020, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2025, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2030, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2035, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2040, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2045, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2050, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2055, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- Principal LifeTime 2060, upgraded to Bronze—the fund was newly added to Principal's target-date series and receives the same rating as the other funds in the series
- Principal LifeTime Strategic Inc, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
- TIAA-CREF Growth & Income, upgraded to Bronze from Neutral
Morningstar downgraded the following U.S. mutual funds in August:
- Arden Alternative Strategies, downgraded to Neutral from Bronze
- Ivy High Income, downgraded to Negative from Under Review—the fund's previous rating was Neutral
Morningstar assigned new Analyst Ratings for the following U.S. mutual funds in August:
- 361 Managed Futures Strategy—assigned new rating of Neutral
- Equinox Campbell Strategy—assigned new rating of Neutral
- Thornburg Limited-Term Muni—assigned new rating of Bronze
- Vanguard Market Neutral—assigned new rating of Bronze
A summary of last month's Morningstar Analyst Rating changes for U.S. mutual funds is available on Morningstar.com in the latest Fund Spy: Medalist Edition here.
Morningstar launched its Analyst Rating for funds and Global Fund Reports in November 2011. Morningstar Medalists—Gold-, Silver-, and Bronze-rated funds—are funds that analysts determine are likely to outperform their peer groups and/or relevant benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over a market cycle of at least five years. The differences between the positive Medalist ratings indicate the level of the analyst's conviction in a fund's future performance. Analysts arrive at a rating through an evaluation of five key pillars: People, Process, Parent, Performance, and Price. The Analyst Rating methodology is available here.
To view a complete list and supporting analysis for Analyst Ratings for U.S. funds, please visit www.morningstar.com. Premium Members have access to a Morningstar Medalists screener, where users can sort funds by Morningstar Rating, Morningstar Analyst Rating, Fund Family, Manager Tenure, Expense Ratio, and other metrics. Morningstar's Global Fund Reports, in-depth research reports that include a wealth of data and analysis, are available in Morningstar DirectSM, the company's web-based global investment analysis platform for institutional investors, and in Morningstar OfficeSM, a global practice and portfolio management solution for advisors.
Morningstar has approximately 100 manager research analysts worldwide who cover approximately 4,300 funds. The company provides data on approximately 172,000 open-end mutual funds, 8,000 closed-end funds, and 10,900 exchange-traded product listings as of June 30, 2014.
About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 473,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 12 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2014. The company has operations in 27 countries.
Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar analysts' current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Morningstar's expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Morningstar does not represent its Analyst Ratings to be guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or the fund's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for informational purposes only; it should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the mutual funds noted within.
©2014 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Media Contact:
Nadine Youssef, +1 312-696-6601 or nadine.youssef@morningstar.com
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.