Introducing Morningstar.com's New Fund Analyst Picks Page

It's been 12 years since Morningstar launched its Fund Analyst Picks. Over the years we've provided data on how those picks have performed. On Morningstar.com's Mutual Funds page we show how fund picks in each asset class have done versus the appropriate broad benchmarks. In Morningstar FundInvestor, we report batting averages that show what percent of our choices have outperformed. We also look at how the individual picks in a category have done versus their peer group over time.

Now, we've added a great new tool to Morningstar.com that shows all our current picks and tracks their performance all on the same page. On the Mutual Funds cover page, just click  All Analyst Picks. The page updates daily so you can see how things change. This Morningstar.com Premium Membership feature shows you the date that the fund was first made a pick, its cumulative returns since that time, and then how that performance compares with the category average during that period. We express this in percentage terms and graphically. A positive number in the plus/minus category column means the fund is ahead of the game. A green bar on the graphic tells you the fund has had a positive return over that time. A red bar means losses.

If you click More Data above the Relative Category Average column, you'll see each pick's Category and Stewardship Grade. Click here for the methodology on Stewardship Grades. When you use the navigation bar to scroll to the right of the Stewardship Grade, you'll see the growth of $10,000 since the fund was first named a pick. Next, we compare that to the growth of $10,000 for the fund category The earlier columns we showed the difference between the fund and its category in percentage terms. Here, it's in dollar terms. So, for the top fund in the list,  Allianz NFJ Small Value , we see that since the fund was picked in August 2008, a $10,000 investment would have grown to $12,159 and that is $188 better than the category average.

Next, we compare the fund's performance against the asset class' primary benchmark. First we show how it compares in percentage terms and then in terms of growth of $10,000. (We're working to switch the benchmark on this page to a category-specific one.)

After that, you'll see the fund's annual expense ratio and prospectus expense ratio. Usually these figures are within a basis point or two. The annual expense ratio tells you the actual fees charged over the course of the last fiscal year; generally that time period ends Oct. 31 of the previous year. The prospectus expense ratio tells you what the fund was charging on the day the prospectus was printed.

Finally, we show whether the fund charges a sales load and list the total assets in the fund.

The list can be sorted, allowing you to easily group it by category, expense ratio, or amount of outperformance. You can also choose how many of the picks you want to see, from 25 to all 187.

Screening for Picks
With 187 picks, you might well want to save some time in narrowing the field. That's why we also gave this page screening functionality. You can quickly narrow the field by choosing load or no-load, active or passive, or fund category, among other criteria. So, let's say you want a no-load large-blend index fund. In just three clicks you will have popped up the two funds that qualify.

If you click Reset Screener near the top of the page, you can instead screen by fund family, expense ratio, manager tenure, Morningstar Rating, risk relative to category, and return relative to category. Let's say I want to find Fidelity funds with expense ratios below 1% and star ratings of 3 or better. Bam! The list is now down to 12. You might want to then click Category to see the funds along category lines.

How Do Our Picks Work?
Want a refresher? Read this article to learn more about the process.

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