Methodology Documents

Morningstar has conducted research on active and passive investment strategies and their associated vehicles since 1986.

This paper outlines the key assumptions and details behind our quantitative equity rating methodology.

We believe that a company's intrinsic worth results from the future cash flows it can generate. The Morningstar Rating for stocks identifies stocks trading at a discount or premium to their intrinsic worth--or fair value estimate, in Morningstar terminology.

This document describes the rationale for, and the formulas and procedures used in, calculating the Morningstar Rating for funds (commonly called the “star rating”). This methodology applies to funds receiving a star rating from Morningstar.

This paper outlines the key assumptions and details behind our quantitative equity rating methodology.

Morningstar developed the Morningstar Equity Comparables system to give investors and financial professionals an objective benchmark for comparing companies. Morningstar Equity Comparables is genuinely different to other industry classification schemes. We start from the bottom up with comparable companies, as opposed to the top down with sector definitions. For every pair of companies, we determine how similar they are–anywhere from closely comparable to distantly related based on automated analysis of the companies' own business description. We automatically analyse the text of the business description and work out whether companies are talking about similar things as they describe their businesses. Businesses described in similar terms are comparable.

The Morningstar Category™ classifications for 529 investment options were introduced in 2010 to help investors make meaningful comparisons between 529 options.

The paper outlines global category definitions.

On display in the third quarter of 2024: the volatility inherent to equities, the benefits of asset-class diversification, and the dynamism of markets.

Originally the data domain within Morningstar known as Managed Investment Data, or MID, had no formal easy-to-consume mechanism for identifying groups of funds or investment types, also known as universes.

This report is compiled by Morningstar’s Equity Manager Research Team and is intended to serve as a due-diligence tool for investors and a barometer for asset-management firms.

The paper contains data and product information about Morningstar Australia Equity Research Coverage

The Morningstar Style Box helps investors determine the investment style of a fund. Different investment styles have different levels of risk that lead to differences in returns. The Morningstar Style Box provides an intuitive and visual representation o

Augmenting investment research with natural language processing.

Understanding what investors value and demonstrating that value are critical facets of a financial advisor's success.

Morningstar factor indexes highlight a pattern of out-of-favor areas bouncing back and momentum stumbling at inflection points.

Investors lost out on about 15% of the return their funds generated.

The Morningstar European Leveraged Loan Index highlights a growing asset class popular with credit investors.

Recovery continues in Europe, but redemptions persist in other parts of the world.

The Insiders dataset is a compilation of the insider dealings information for companies in the US and UK markets.

Morningstar Global Markets Indexes' revenue sources are revealing.

As your value proposition evolves, how do you better attract and engage clients?

Current challenges facing equity-income investors are not insurmountable.

Identifying equity exposure to themes.

We incorporate nontradable wealth, such as firm-level human capital and restricted stock units, in a stock-level portfolio optimization and show that minimizing idiosyncratic risk at the total portfolio level leads to a significant improvement in out-of

Methodology | Version 1.0

Not without risks, bank loans are nonetheless more than a yield play.

The paper contains data and product information about Morningstar Australia Equity Research Coverage

The paper contains information about Morningstar Manager Research Coverage in Australia & New Zealand

Negative sentiment and attractive valuations provide opportunity in parts of the emerging-markets equity complex.

Sector and industry dynamics offer insight into European equity performance trends and future opportunity.

Australian category classification system