CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc.
(Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating™
activity for 159 U.S. open-end mutual funds,
exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and nine
separately managed accounts (SMAs) that occurred in October 2018. 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 October, Morningstar's manager research group assigned new ratings to four U.S. funds and four SMAs. In addition, analysts
upgraded ratings for six funds, downgraded ratings for 12 funds and one SMA, affirmed ratings for 136 funds and four SMAs, and
placed one fund's rating under review.
"Diamond Hill Mid Cap earned an inaugural Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold for its exceptional team and disciplined
framework," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's director of manager research for
North America. "Chris Welch and two additional portfolio managers
work with the firm's two dozen analysts who perform rigorous, bottom-up research. They look for companies trading below their
intrinsic values that offer promise over a five-year time horizon. Adding to this strong team and approach is a relatively cheap
fee versus its mid-cap value Morningstar Category peers."
As of Oct. 31, 2018, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to
160 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 346 funds, a Bronze rating to 590 funds, a Neutral rating to 683 funds, and a Negative
rating to 18 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately five percent of unique mutual funds available for
sale in the United States and 69 percent of assets under management. Morningstar's manager
research analysts rate approximately $11.8 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or approximately 61
percent of total investor assets in the United States.
The following Morningstar Analyst Rating changes occurred in October 2018:
|
Previous Morningstar
Analyst Rating
|
Current Morningstar
Analyst Rating
|
New Ratings
|
|
|
Champlain Small Cap (SMA)
|
None
|
Gold
|
Diamond Hill Mid Cap Equity (SMA)
|
None
|
Gold
|
Diamond Hill Mid Cap
|
None
|
Gold
|
Loomis Sayles High Income Opportunities
|
None
|
Gold
|
Vaughan Nelson Value Opportunity (SMA)
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Guinness Atkinson Global Innovators
|
None
|
Neutral
|
NWQ Small Cap Value Equity (SMA)
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Natixis Vaughan Nelson Value Opportunities
|
None
|
Neutral
|
|
|
|
Upgrades
|
|
|
iShares Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF
|
Bronze
|
Silver
|
Fidelity Conservative Income Bond
|
Bronze
|
Silver
|
JPMorgan Core Plus Bond
|
Neutral
|
Bronze
|
PIMCO RAE PLUS
|
Neutral
|
Bronze
|
PIMCO StocksPLUS
|
Bronze
|
Silver
|
BlackRock High Yield Municipal
|
Bronze
|
Silver
|
|
|
|
Downgrades
|
|
|
AMG Managers Fairpointe Mid Cap
|
Silver
|
Neutral
|
Montag & Caldwell Equity (SMA)
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
LKCM Small Cap Equity
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Lord Abbett Value Opportunities
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
MFS Diversified Income
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Nuveen NWQ Small-Cap Value
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Oberweis International Opportunities
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Oberweis International Opportunities Institutional
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Oppenheimer International Small-Mid Company
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
RBC Microcap Value
|
Neutral
|
Negative
|
Royce Premier
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
T. Rowe Price New Income
|
Bronze
|
Neutral
|
Fidelity High Income
|
Under Review
|
Bronze
|
|
|
|
Under Review
|
|
|
Voya Global Equity Dividend
|
Neutral
|
Under Review
|
A list of the Analyst Ratings for 136 U.S. funds and four SMAs that Morningstar affirmed in October is available here.
A summary of last month's Morningstar Analyst Rating changes for U.S. 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 December 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 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
for mutual funds is available here and for ETFs here. The Analyst Rating
methodology for SMAs 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 115 manager research analysts worldwide who cover approximately 4,315 funds. The company
provides data on approximately 240,940 open-end mutual funds, 12,200 closed-end funds, and 16,150 exchange-traded product
listings as of Sept. 30, 2018.
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, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets.
Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products,
publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment
management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $207 billion in
assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2018. The company has operations in 27
countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.
Morningstar's Manager Research Group consists of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. including, but not
limited to, Morningstar Research Services LLC. Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis
for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar's Manager Research Group's current expectations about future
events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause such expectations not to occur or to differ
significantly from what was expected. Analyst Ratings are not guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a
fund's or a fund's or separately managed account's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for
informational purposes only; references to securities or a separately managed account investment strategy in this press release
should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities or to invest in accordance with that
strategy.
©2018 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORN-R
Media Contact:
Mary Kate Marchesi, +1 312 348-3180 or marykate.marchesi@morningstar.com
Sarah Wirth, +1 312 244-7358 or sarah.wirth@morningstar.com
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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.