Skip to Content
Morningstar

August Ratings Heat Up

No summer holiday for new analyst ratings.

In August, Morningstar manager research analysts affirmed the Morningstar Analyst Ratings of 95 funds and two target-date series, upgraded the ratings of eight funds, downgraded the ratings of seven funds, and assigned new ratings to 48 funds. Below are some of August’s highlights, followed by the full list of ratings changes.

Upgrades:

The rating for

Compared with peers in the nontraditional bond Morningstar Category, the fund sticks mainly to mortgage-related investments, which have boosted returns since its inception. This go-anywhere approach can introduce risk, as exhibited by the fund’s increasing mortgage derivative exposure, but due to strong bottom-up security selection and the firm’s deep analytical advantages, Hyman and his team have demonstrated an ability to manage risk prudently.

The rating for

Downgrades:

Due to uncertainty over an upcoming manager change, the rating for

New Ratings:

source: Morningstar

More in Funds

About the Author

Christopher Franz

Associate Director
More from Author

Christopher Franz is an associate director of equity strategies for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc.

Prior to rejoining Morningstar Research Services LLC in 2021, he spent two years with Morningstar Australasia in Sydney, where he served as a senior analyst and environmental, social, and governance strategist, conducting qualitative research on Australian and New Zealand fund managers and leading the team's ESG-related research. Franz initially joined Morningstar in Chicago in 2016, where he focused on U.S. small- and mid-cap strategies. Before joining Morningstar, Franz spent four years as a research analyst for Westwood Holdings Group, where he focused on external manager research and due diligence.

Franz holds a bachelor's degree in financial analysis from Creighton University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Sponsor Center