Morningstar Assigns New Analyst Ratings to Seven U.S. Funds and Six Target-Date Series; Upgrades Five Funds; Downgrades Three Funds in November 2018

CHICAGO, Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating™ activity for 169 U.S. open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and eight target-date series that occurred in November 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 November, Morningstar's manager research group assigned new ratings to seven U.S. funds and six target-date series. In addition, analysts upgraded ratings for five funds, downgraded ratings for three funds, affirmed ratings for 148 funds and two target-date series, and placed six funds under review.

"Last month we lowered Oakmark Select's Morningstar Analyst Rating from Gold to Silver following its stumbles in energy and other errors of omission. This strategy depends on standout stock-picking to succeed, and execution has not been consistent enough to merit the highest Morningstar Medalist rating," said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's director of manager research for North America. "On the flip side, the rating for Schwab US TIPS ETF was raised to Gold from Silver because of its sizeable fee advantage in a category that's been tough for active management. This low-cost ETF has an effective process that protects against inflation by accurately representing the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, market, mitigates transaction costs, and avoids key person risk."

As of Nov. 30, 2018, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 159 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 384 funds, a Bronze rating to 608 funds, a Neutral rating to 742 funds, and a Negative rating to 36 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately five percent of unique mutual funds available for sale in the United States and 61 percent of assets under management. Morningstar's manager research analysts rate approximately $11.9 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or approximately 69 percent of total investor assets in the United States.

The following Morningstar Analyst Rating changes occurred in November 2018:

A list of the Analyst Ratings for 148 U.S. funds and two target-date series that Morningstar affirmed in November 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 Direct^SM, the company's web-based global investment analysis platform for institutional investors, and in Morningstar Office^SM, 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.

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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.