Feb 13, 2018   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

Morningstar Assigns New Analyst Ratings to Three U.S. Funds; Upgrades Seven Funds; Downgrades One Fund and One Target-Date Series in January 2018

CHICAGO, Feb. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating(TM) activity for 103 U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and seven target-date series that occurred in January 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 January, Morningstar's Manager Research Group assigned new ratings to three funds. In addition, analysts upgraded ratings for seven funds, downgraded ratings for one fund and one target-date series, and affirmed ratings for 92 funds and six target-date series.

As of Jan. 31, 2018, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 145 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 344 funds, a Bronze rating to 591 funds, a Neutral rating to 688 funds, and a Negative rating to 18 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately 6 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 January 2018:

                                     Previous Morningstar Current Morningstar
                                     Analyst Rating       Analyst Rating
                                     --------------       --------------

    New Ratings
    -----------

    Hood River Small-Cap Growth      None                 Neutral
    ---------------------------      ----                 -------

    Morgan Stanley Institutional
     Global Franchise                None                 Bronze
    ----------------------------     ----                 ------

    Natixis Oakmark International    None                 Silver
    -----------------------------    ----                 ------


    Upgrades
    --------

    American Funds Intermediate Bond
     Fund of America                 Neutral              Bronze
    -------------------------------- -------              ------

    Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth    Neutral              Bronze
    -----------------------------    -------              ------

    Fidelity Small Cap Discovery     Bronze               Silver
    ----------------------------     ------               ------

    Invesco Balanced-Risk Allocation Neutral              Bronze
    -------------------------------- -------              ------

    T. Rowe Price New America Growth Neutral              Bronze
    -------------------------------- -------              ------

    Vanguard Strategic Equity        Bronze               Silver
    -------------------------        ------               ------

    Vanguard US Value                Bronze               Silver
    -----------------                ------               ------


    Downgrades
    ----------

    Fidelity Advisor Small Cap       Silver               Bronze
    --------------------------       ------               ------

    Principal LifeTime Target-Date
     Series                          Bronze               Neutral
    ------------------------------   ------               -------

A list of the Analyst Ratings for 92 U.S. funds and six target-date series that Morningstar affirmed in January 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.

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 120 manager research analysts worldwide who cover approximately 4,440 funds. The company provides data on approximately 225,200 open-end mutual funds, 10,900 closed-end funds, and 14,500 exchange-traded product listings as of Sept. 30, 2017.

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 $220 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2017. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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 the fund's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities in this press release should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities.

©2018 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

MORN-R

Media Contact:

Mary Kenefake, +1 312 348-3089 or mary.kenefake@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.