Morningstar Runs the Numbers

Inspired by Harper's Index (with a tip of the hat to FiveThirtyEight's Significant Digits blog), Morningstar Runs the Numbers uses a numbers-based approach to highlight recent Morningstar research, along with some outside news stories.

4 This week, Morningstar's manager research group announced the finalists for Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year awards in all categories. In this article, we take a closer look at the four nominees for the Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award.

"Our finalists navigated geopolitical challenges at home and abroad, high valuations often belied by only modestly improving earnings and increasing debt, and a rising market tide that lifted almost all boats regardless of quality. Although it has been hard for active managers to beat U.S. stock indexes in recent years, these managers' rigorous research, time-tested processes, and investment skill have set them apart in today's market."

5 Morningstar's PitchBook team, which tracks public and private equity markets, attended CES--a huge consumer technology convention and trade show in Las Vegas. Read their take on the five major emerging technology trends at the event.

3 Director of manager research Russ Kinnel named three key themes for fund investors in 2018. Among them, Kinnel thinks investors shouldn't give up on the small-value category despite its relatively weak performance in 2017.

"Historically, [small value's underperformance is] a good thing. It 1999, it did much worse than large growth and then came back for a long-running stretch of outperformance versus large growth."

6 The Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index added six stocks and dumped six stocks in December. Read about the additions and deletions, and take a look at the 10 cheapest stocks in the index.

$6.3 trillion

"There was little in wide-moat-rated BlackRock's fourth-quarter earnings that would alter our long-term view of the firm. We recently raised our fair value estimate for the company's shares to $550, after adjusting our assumptions not only to reflect the close of 2017, but also to account for the reduction of the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate this year to 21%, compared with our previous estimate of 25%."

Most Popular Articles

• 32 Undervalued Stocks
• Your 2018 Tax Fact Sheet and Calendar
• Experts Forecast Long-Term Stock and Bond Returns: 2018 Edition
• When an HSA-First Strategy Makes Sense
• 5 Upgrades, 8 Downgrades, and 71 New Analyst Ratings for Funds

Most Popular Videos

• How the Tax Changes Affect Retirees and Pre-Retirees
• 3 Key Themes for Investors in 2018
• 3 of Our Favorite Value Funds
• American Funds' Flows Rebound in 2017
• These Energy Firms Look Cheap Today

Most Requested Stock Quotes GE Apple Berkshire Hathaway AT&T Amazon.com

Most Requested Stock Analyses

GE

Allergan

Dominion Energy

L Brands

FirstEnergy

Most Requested Fund Quotes Vanguard 500 Index Fidelity Contrafund Vanguard Total Stock Market Index T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Dodge & Cox Stock

Most Requested Fund Analyses

Oakmark International

T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth

Dodge & Cox Income

Vanguard Wellesley Income

PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock

Most Requested ETF Quotes

Most Requested ETF Analyses

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

Vanguard REIT ETF

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF