Morningstar Upgrades Analyst Rating for Four U.S. Funds, Downgrades Three Funds, and Reaffirms Ratings on 66 Funds and Four Target-Date Series in March

CHICAGO, April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. MORN, a leading provider of independent investment research, has published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating™ activity for 73 U.S. funds and four target-date series that occurred in March 2015. 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 March, Morningstar manager research analysts upgraded four U.S. fund ratings and downgraded three fund ratings. In addition, analysts reaffirmed ratings for 66 funds and four target-date series and assigned seven new ratings.

As of March 31, 2015, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 132 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 280 funds, a Bronze rating to 332 funds, a Neutral rating to 293 funds, and a Negative rating to 38 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately 10 percent of unique mutual funds available for sale in the United States and 58 percent of assets under management. Morningstar's manager research analysts rate about $8 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or approximately 70 percent of total investor assets in the United States.

The following Morningstar Analyst Rating changes occurred in March 2015:

A list of the Analyst Ratings for 66 U.S. mutual funds and four target-date series that Morningstar reaffirmed in March is available here.

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 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 100 manager research analysts worldwide who cover approximately 4,200 funds. The company provides data on approximately 183,500 open-end mutual funds, 9,700 closed-end funds, and 11,000 exchange-traded product listings as of Dec. 31, 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 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 14 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 $170 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Dec. 31, 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. 

©2015 Morningstar, Inc.  All rights reserved.

MORN-R

Media Contact:
Nadine Youssef, +1 312-696-6601 or nadine.youssef@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.