Alex Bryan

More From Alex Bryan

Economic Growth: Great for Everyone but Investors?

While it may be intuitive to presume strong economic growth translates into strong stock market performance, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Alex Bryan Oct 19, 2016

High Dividends With Less Risk

This ETF targets high-dividend payers that have offered a fairly smooth ride.

Alex Bryan Oct 7, 2016

Indexing in Less-Efficient Markets

The case for index investing rests on the index fund's cost advantage and how representative it is of its actively managed peers, not market efficiency.

Alex Bryan Oct 5, 2016

An Attractive European Stock ETF

This is one of the cheapest and most comprehensive Europe-stock funds available.

Alex Bryan Sep 16, 2016

Avoid Leveraged and Inverse ETFs

They're only meant to be a one-day holding, and during that period you're just guessing.

Alex Bryan Sep 14, 2016

A Broadly Diversified Value Portfolio at a Rock-Bottom Fee

A sizable cost advantage, low turnover, and well-diversified portfolio make Vanguard Value ETF one of the better options in the category.

Alex Bryan Sep 9, 2016

ETFs That Take Some of the Volatility Out of Foreign Stocks

Currency-hedging and low-volatility approaches might make it easier to stick with international stocks over the long haul.

Alex Bryan Aug 31, 2016

Quality at a Low Cost

This ETF is a bargain for investors who want exposure to profitable companies with durable competitive advantages.

Alex Bryan Aug 19, 2016

Most Investors Probably Won't Outperform This Simple Portfolio

A portfolio of low-cost index funds isn't a bad starting point for the average investor.

Alex Bryan Aug 17, 2016

Concentrated Exposure to Industry Leaders

This Dow Jones Industrial Average tracker has an odd weighting scheme that limits its appeal.

Alex Bryan Aug 5, 2016

Better Bond ETFs?

A new crop of rules-based bond ETFs is attempting to improve on traditional market-cap-weighted alternatives.

Alex Bryan Aug 3, 2016

Cheap Exposure to Small-Growth Stocks

This ETF's significant cost advantage should translate into attractive category-relative performance.

Alex Bryan Jul 22, 2016

Making Contrarian Investing Work

Performance tends to persist in the short run, but betting on long-term losers can be a winning strategy.

Alex Bryan Jul 20, 2016

An ETF for Growing Appetites

Long-term growth in global food consumption should benefit this fund's holdings, but investors should be prepared for a bumpy ride.

Alex Bryan Jul 8, 2016

Unintended Biases in ESG Index Funds

ESG index strategies can be effective tools for values-based investing, but they may introduce some additional bets that investors may not intend to make.

Alex Bryan Jul 6, 2016

There's Value in This High-Dividend ETF

This low-cost exchange-traded fund offers an attractive yield while diversifying risk.

Alex Bryan Jun 24, 2016

Finding Your Sweet Spot Along the Dividend Spectrum

Dividend strategies can look and behave differently from one another depending on how they manage the trade-off between income and dividend growth.

Alex Bryan Jun 22, 2016

A Dynamic Currency-Hedged Stock Strategy

This international-stock ETF places currency bets in an attempt to enhance performance.

Alex Bryan Jun 3, 2016

Defensive Exposure to Stocks Abroad

This low-volatility ETF should give international-stock investors a smoother ride and better downside protection.

Alex Bryan May 27, 2016

Risks and Opportunities in Senior Loan ETFs

These investments offer attractive yields and can hold up well when interest rates rise, but they come with considerable credit and liquidity risk.

Alex Bryan May 25, 2016

Defensive ETFs: Too Good to Be True?

Defensive strategies, like those followed by low-volatility ETFs, can produce better risk-adjusted returns while smoothing out the highs and lows of the market.

Alex Bryan May 4, 2016

A Distinctive Dividend-Growth ETF

This quality strategy looks beyond past dividend growth.

Alex Bryan Apr 27, 2016

5 Small-Cap Medalists for Your Radar

It's necessary to be selective, but there are some good actively managed small-cap funds still open to new investors.

Alex Bryan Mar 28, 2016

An Unconventional Play on Value

This fundamentally weighted ETF allows investors to profit from mean reversion in valuations.

Alex Bryan Mar 4, 2016

Under the Hood of 5 Multifactor Funds

All these funds attempt to reduce the risk of underperformance by diversifying across multiple 'factors,' but there are important differences among them.

Alex Bryan Mar 2, 2016

Cheap Exposure to Large-Value Stocks

This ETF is one of the best bargains in the U.S. large-value Morningstar Category.

Alex Bryan Feb 5, 2016

Defensive Exposure to Small-Cap Stocks

This ETF should give small-cap investors a smoother ride, though it has some distinct risks.

Alex Bryan Jan 11, 2016

More-Palatable Approaches to Adding Foreign Fare to Your Plate

Foreign stocks can be riskier than their U.S. counterparts, but it is possible to mitigate this risk.

Alex Bryan Jan 6, 2016

Winning Funds Often Flame Out

A new Morningstar study finds that investors should look beyond past performance when selecting actively managed funds.

Alex Bryan Jan 5, 2016

Cheap Exposure to Mid-Cap Value Stocks

This ETF's approach may be simple, but its low fee gives it a durable edge.

Alex Bryan Nov 27, 2015

More About Alex Bryan

Alex Bryan, CFA, is director of product management for equity indexes at Morningstar.

Before assuming his current role in 2016, Bryan spent four years as a manager analyst covering equity strategies. Previously, he was a project manager and senior data analyst in Morningstar's data department. He joined Morningstar in 2008 as an inside sales consultant for Morningstar Office.

Bryan holds a bachelor's degree in economics and finance from Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a master's degree in business administration, with high honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. In 2016, Bryan was named a Rising Star at the 23rd Annual Mutual Fund Industry Awards.