Morningstar Assigns New Analyst Ratings to Four Strategies, Upgrades Four, and Downgrades Three in September 2019

October 14, 2019

CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating™ activity for 120 U.S. strategies that occurred in September 2019. Strategies include all vehicles that Morningstar covers, including open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), separately managed accounts (SMAs), target-date series, and collective investment trusts (CITs). The Morningstar Analyst Rating represents Morningstar's conviction in the strategy'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 September 2019, Morningstar's manager research group assigned new ratings to four U.S. strategies and affirmed 109 strategies, including six SMAs and one CIT. Four strategies were upgraded, three were downgraded, and none were placed under review.

"In September we upgraded Wasatch Small Cap Growth from Silver to Gold as the fund's veteran leader, J.B. Taylor, continues to execute with a well-defined process and an experienced team," said Russel Kinnel, chair of Morningstar's North America ratings committee and editor of Morningstar FundInvestor. "We downgraded American Funds New Economy from Gold to Silver due to the surprising departure of comanager Mark Denning. As one of four named managers at the time he left, Denning commanded about 15 percent of this fund's $21.0 billion asset base. Redeploying Denning's assets won't be a problem, but his loss hurts."

The following Analyst Rating changes occurred in September 2019:


Vehicle Type

Previous
Morningstar

Analyst Rating

Current
Morningstar

Analyst Rating

New Ratings




Fidelity Total Bond ETF

ETF

None

Gold

PIMCO Short Asset Investment Institutional

Mutual Fund

None

Gold

Voya Large Cap Growth Port

Mutual Fund

None

Neutral

VY JPMorgan Small Cap Core Equity

Mutual Fund

None

Bronze





Upgrades




BlackRock Technology Opportunities Institutional

Mutual Fund

Bronze

Silver

Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences

Mutual Fund

Neutral

Bronze

T. Rowe Price New America Growth

Mutual Fund

Bronze

Silver

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor

Mutual Fund

Silver

Gold





Downgrades




American Funds New Economy

Mutual Fund

Gold

Silver

First Eagle Fund of America

Mutual Fund

Bronze

Neutral

Swan Defined Risk

Mutual Fund

Bronze

Neutral

A list of the Analyst Ratings for 102 U.S. funds, six SMAs and one CIT that Morningstar affirmed in September is available here.

As of Sept. 30, 2019, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 239 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 434 funds, a Bronze rating to 628 funds, a Neutral rating to 744 funds, and a Negative rating to 34 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately six percent of unique mutual funds available for sale in the U.S. and 62 percent of assets under management. Morningstar's manager research analysts rate approximately $13.7 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or approximately 70 percent of total investor assets in the U.S.

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 November 2011. Morningstar Medalists 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, CITs, and model portfolios is available here.

Morningstar recently announced it will enhance two of its forward-looking fund ratings systems, the Morningstar Analyst Rating™ for funds (Analyst Rating) and the Morningstar Quantitative Rating™ for funds (Quantitative Rating). The enhanced ratings, which are based on an updated assessment framework, will begin to take effect on Oct. 31, 2019. Read more in the press release issued on July 8, 2019, 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.

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 about $220 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2019. 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.

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