Morningstar analysts have taken a fresh look at nearly 100 funds, giving just one an upgrade. They downgraded a handful of funds, while giving 19 new ratings.
According to the Chicago-based research group, the Morningstar Analyst Ratings represent analysts' views that a fund can outperform its peers on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. The five-tiered, qualitative scale has three positive levels — Gold, Silver and Bronze — as well as neutral and negative ratings.
To put the latest ratings adjustments into perspective, Morningstar analysts have given a Gold rating to 132 funds, a Silver rating to 297 funds, a Bronze rating to 479 funds, a Neutral rating to 394 funds and a Negative rating to 10 funds.
The positive-rated funds, referred to as Morningstar Medalists, account for about 13% of funds sold in the U.S. and close to 60% of assets under management. (Overall, the group's analysts rate more than $11 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or some 67% of U.S. investor assets.)
Recently, the research group gave four alternative funds a Bronze rating, noting that the ratings system is "not an easy bar to clear" when it comes to alternatives.
The January 2017 updates are as follows:
Upgrade
- T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Growth: Bronze (from Neutral)
Downgrades
- AQR Managed Futures Strategy: Bronze (from Silver)
- Gotham Absolut Return: Neutral (from Bronze)
- LKCM Small Cap Equity: Bronze (from Silver)
- Oppenheimer Equity Income: Neutral (from Bronze)
- RiverPark/Wedgewood: Bronze (from Silver)
- Royce Special Equity: Silver (from Gold)
New Ratings
- AB Discovery Growth, Neutral
- Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF, Neutral
- Eagle Mid Cap Growth, Neutral
- Fidelity Advisor Emerging Markets, Bronze
- Goldman Sachs Multi-Manager Alternatives, Neutral
- Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF, Neutral
- iShares Core Total USD Bond Market, Silver
- iShares National Muni Bond, Bronze
- iShares US Consumer Goods, Neutral
- iShares US Industrials, Neutral
- PowerShares Buyback Achievers ETF, Neutral
- SPDR Nuveen Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond ETF, Bronze
- SPDR Nuveen Bloomberg Barclays Short Term Municipal Bond ETF, Bronze
- Technology Select Sector SPDRs ETF, Bronze
- Touchstone Sustainability & Impact Equity, Neutral
- Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF, Neutral
- Vanguard Industrials ETF, Neutral
- Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF, Silver
- William Blair Macro Allocation, Bronze
— Check out 16 Best Fund Managers of 2016: Morningstar on ThinkAdvisor.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.