What Investors Were Researching in January

January was good to investors. The S&P 500 tacked on more than 5% during the month as it reclaimed the 1,500 level for the first time since 2007. The broad-based large-cap index is now within spitting distance of its all-time high.

Why the enthusiasm? First off, there was some relief that the so-called fiscal cliff was finally dealt with and the debt ceiling came off the table as a negotiating point (for now) among policymakers. Earnings reports have been far from spectacular. But firms are generally meeting expectations, and outlooks for 2013 have mostly remained intact. Overseas, there was evidence that China's growth was beginning to accelerate. Europe's crisis remained dormant as the core countries of the eurozone continued to slog along. And the Bank of Japan committed to a 2% inflation target in an effort to stimulate the economy. 

Against this backdrop, what securities were Morningstar.com users researching? We've pulled the 25 most viewed stock, mutual fund, and exchange-traded fund reports of January to see if any trends emerged. We'll revisit this list every month this year to see how investor interest evolves during the next 12 months.

Most Viewed Stock Analyst Reports in Jan 2013
Name	Ticker	Moat	Star Rating	January Return
Apple	AAPL	Narrow		-14%
Abbott Laboratories	ABT	Narrow		9%
Intel	INTC	Wide		2%
National Oilwell Varco	NOV	Wide		8%
AbbVie	ABBV	Narrow		9%
General Electric	GE	Wide		6%
Microsoft	MSFT	Wide		3%
Western Union	WU	Wide		5%
Canadian Nat Res	CNQ	Narrow		5%
Exelon	EXC	Wide		6%
AT&T	T	Narrow		5%
Ford	F	None		1%
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Wide		5%
CSX	CSX	Narrow		12%
Nordion	NDZ	Narrow		9%
Cisco Systems	CSCO	Wide		5%
Wells Fargo	WFC	Narrow		3%
Google	GOOG	Wide		7%
BHP Billiton	BBL	Narrow		-2%
Kohl's	KSS	Narrow		8%
Spectra Energy	SE	Wide		1%
Facebook	FB	Wide		16%
WPX Energy	WPX	None		5%
Caterpillar	CAT	Wide		10%
Chevron	CVX	Narrow		6%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of Jan. 31.

On the equities side,  Apple  was far and away the most viewed report this month. No big surprise there. Apple's shares have been on a slide, falling more than 14% in the month as investors feared that reported supply chain cuts and a disappointing outlook for the next quarter meant that iPhone growth was poised to slow dramatically. Morningstar analyst Brian Colello cut his fair value estimate but still sees the shares as undervalued. Our CEO of the Year award to  National Oilwell Varco  chief Pete Miller seems to have driven interest in the shares. The split-up of  AbbVie  from  Abbott Laboratories  also was a popular research topic last month.

Most Viewed Open-End Fund Analyst Reports in Jan 2013
Name	Ticker	Morningstar Category	Star Rating	January Return
Vanguard Div Growth	VDIGX	Large Blend		5%
Vanguard Wellington	VWELX	Mod Allocation		4%
T. Rowe Cap Appr	PRWCX	Mod Allocation		4%
Fidelity Sm Cap Disc	FSCRX	Small Blend		8%
Vanguard Wellesley	VWINX	Conserv Allocation		1%
Fairholme	FAIRX	Large Value		5%
PIMCO Total Return	PTTRX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Fidelity Contrafund	FCNTX	Large Growth		4%
Oakmark International	OAKIX	Foreign Lg Blend		7%
FPA Crescent	FPACX	Mod Allocation		4%
Fidelity Flt Rt High Inc	FFRHX	Bank Loan		1%
Dodge & Cox Income	DODIX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Yacktman	YACKX	Large Blend		6%
MetWest Tot Ret Bnd	MWTRX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Loomis Sayles Bond	LSBRX	Multisector Bond		2%
Fidelity High Income	SPHIX	High Yield Bond		1%
T. Rowe Equity Inc	PRFDX	Large Value		5%
Dodge & Cox Intl Stk	DODFX	Foreign Lg Blend		5%
Dodge & Cox Stock	DODGX	Large Value		6%
Fidelity New Mkts Inc	FNMIX	Emrg Mkt Bond		0%
Dodge & Cox Bal	DODBX	Mod Allocation		5%
Harbor Bond	HABDX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
FMI Large Cap	FMIHX	Large Blend		6%
Fidelity Low-Prcd Stk	FLPSX	Mid-Cap Blend		5%
PIMCO Income	PONDX	Multisector Bond		2%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of Jan. 31.

On the open-end fund front, investors continue to be very interested in obtaining income either through bonds or dividend-paying stocks. High on the list was  T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation  whose skipper, David Giroux, won the Allocation Fund Manager of the Year award for 2012.  Fairholme , which just announced it was closing to new investors, was also one of the top-researched funds.

Most Viewed ETF Analyst Reports in Jan 2013
Name	Ticker	January Return
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation	VIG	6%
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US	VEU	3%
PIMCO Total Return	BOND	0%
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity	SCHD	6%
WisdomTree Emerg Mkts Eq	DEM	2%
Vanguard REIT Index	VNQ	4%
Vanguard MSCI EAFE	VEA	4%
Vanguard Total Stock Market	VTI	5%
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets	VWO	1%
WisdomTree Emrg Mkt Locl Dbt	ELD	0%
SPDR S&P Dividend	SDY	6%
JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index	AMJ	14%
Vanguard Energy	VDE	8%
PowerShares DB Comd Idx Track	DBC	3%
WisdomTree Emrg Mkt SmallCap Div	DGS	3%
iShares MSCI Emrg Mkt Min Vol Idx	EEMV	2%
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Indx	VYM	6%
SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond	JNK	1%
PowerShares Senior Loan Port	BKLN	1%
Vanguard Growth	VUG	4%
Vanguard Short-Term Bond	BSV	0%
iShares Barclays TIPS Bond	TIP	-1%
iShares Gold Trust	IAU	0%
SPDR Gold Shares	GLD	0%
PowerShares S&P 500 Low Vol	SPLV	5%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of Jan. 31.

There was a similar story in ETFs. Income-oriented funds like  Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF ,  PIMCO Total Return ETF ,  Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF , and  Vanguard REIT Index ETF  were near the top of the list. Funds with an international bent, such as  Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF ,  WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income , were also widely researched.