Value Investors Are Vexed
Value's decade-long slump is testing contrarians' patience.
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson, CFA, is the head of client solutions, working with Morningstar's asset-management clients to leverage Morningstar's capabilities in advancing our shared mission of empowering investor success.
Prior to assuming his current role in 2022, Johnson was the director of global exchange-traded fund and passive strategies research within Morningstar's manager research group. Earlier in his tenure in the manager research organization, he served as the director of ETF research for Europe and Asia. He also previously served as a senior equity analyst, covering the agriculture and chemicals industries. Before joining Morningstar in 2006, he worked as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.
Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. In 2015, Fund Directions and Fund Action named Johnson among the 2015 Rising Stars of Mutual Funds.
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iShares Gold Trust Suspends New Creations
A flood of safe-haven buyers causes a precarious situation in this gold exchange-traded product.
2 Ways to Bet on a Value-Stock Turnaround
As some investors are giving up on value stocks, these ETFs offer contrarians a potent and a tamer way to capture what could be a resurgent value premium.
Build Your Own Benchmark
Traditional benchmarks have a purpose, but they are impersonal and fail to reflect the messy realities of investing.
ETF Investors Keep It Simple
Despite the profusion of niche ETF products coming to market, investors are still showing a strong preference for low-cost, plain-vanilla equity exposure, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
The Cost Matters Hypothesis
While markets’ efficiency will be forever questioned, there is no question that the costs we incur in investing deduct directly from our returns--it’s simple subtraction.
What to Make of the Buyback Bonanza
Buybacks are in vogue, but many investors still prefer good old-fashioned dividends.
Reminder: Notes Are Not Funds
Recent events have served up a not-so-gentle reminder of the perils of investing in exchange-traded notes.
The Whole Market for Free?
A race to lower expense ratios on broad-market ETFs, along with other factors, has pushed the estimated holding costs of many funds to nearly zero, writes Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
ETFs: Tax-Efficient, Not Tax-Exempt
Thanks mostly to their underlying strategies and their unique structure, ETFs are relatively more tax-efficient, but they're not immune from taxation.
What High-Yield Investors Need to Know Today
The problems at Third Avenue are likely isolated, but both active and passive high-yield investors need to be aware of the risks and opportunities today.
Just How Tax-Efficient Are ETFs?
Strategy and structure make ETFs more tax-efficient than most actively managed funds, but they're not immune from taxation, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
Bond Funds: The Pros and Cons of Going Passive
Index funds' low fees are a big advantage, but investors shouldn't look at expenses in isolation when picking a bond fund, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
Are Emerging-Markets Stocks Too Cheap to Ignore?
Almost, but not quite.
A Guide to Selecting Strategic-Beta ETPs
A brief guide outlining how we set out to separate the wheat from the chaff in this field.
Why Have Quality-Dividend ETFs Underperformed?
A seven-year-long bull market has led to quality-dividend ETFs underperforming broader indexes, but Morningstar’s Ben Johnson thinks these funds’ time to shine will be during the next bear market.
Active vs. Passive: Not So Clear-Cut Anymore
As the distinctions between active and passive strategies become less visible, investors' due diligence must evolve, says Vanguard's Joel Dickson.
Fixed-Income Investors: Face the Facts
Current circumstances are a difficult pill to swallow for many bond investors, but that is no reason to offload your ballast, writes Morningstar’s Ben Johnson.
What You Need to Know About 'Strategic Beta'
As these sometimes complex new funds continue to grow, investors need to be selective, writes Morningstar’s Ben Johnson.
Do You Need a Real-Money Benchmark?
Investing a modest amount in a benchmark that reflects your investment mix provides a real-dollar gauge of how your portfolio is doing, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
Lower Fees, Far Greater Chance of Success for Funds
If there is any low-hanging fruit for fund investors, it's managing costs, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
What Happened With ETF Pricing on Monday?
Morningstar's Ben Johnson discusses the recent pricing disconnect, and outlines some best practices for investors looking to trade ETFs.
A Suite of New Multifactor ETFs for Your Watchlist
Credible factors cleverly combined make the MSCI Factor Select ETFs compelling, says Morningstar ETFInvestor editor Ben Johnson.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee and the Pursuit of Alpha
Stiff competition is affecting competitive spelling and asset management in curiously similar ways.
Bond Market Liquidity and the ETF Bogeyman
Many investors still don’t fully comprehend the function that fixed-income ETFs serve or how they work.
One of the Most Useful ETF Data Points You May Never Have Heard Of
Morningstar's fair value metric is a useful touch point for ETF investors doing their homework on equity valuations.
2 Low-Cost ETFs for Broad U.S. Stock Exposure
Although both ETFs offer broad, low-cost exposure to U.S. stocks, Vanguard Total Stock Market is both more liquid and more representative of the market than Schwab U.S. Broad Market.
Our Favorite Energy ETF
Energy Select Sector SPDR is a low-cost, liquid tool for strong-stomached investors seeking broad-based energy exposure.
Scouring S&P 500 Sectors For Bargains
The energy sector looks to be the last pocket of value in a fairly priced market.
5 Tips For Trading ETFs
Don't forget what the "ET" in ETF stands for.
Fund Firms Cashing in Despite Move to Lower-Cost Funds
Industry fee revenue at record high, even though investors pay less for funds overall.
Investors Drive Expense Ratios Down
A Morningstar study shows the average fundholder pays 15% less than five years ago.
Strategic Beta: Investment Fad or Opportunity?
Strategic beta funds have seen substantial inflows recently, but investors should approach them with a healthy skepticism and a keen eye on costs, says Morningstar's Ben Johnson.
Active and Index Funds: How Do They Really Stack Up?
Adjusting for several factors--including fees, the time period, and the composition of the benchmark versus managers' real opportunity set--impacts the comparison.
Lines Blurring Between Active and Passive
Investors can now use passive products to make very active decisions about the types of stocks or weighting strategies they want in a portfolio, says Rolf Agather of Russell Indexes.
A Closer Look at One of Our Favorite Dividend ETFs
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF offers a high-quality portfolio at a very low price.
Not All Dividend ETFs Are Created Equal
The common dividend label belies what is a diverse array of equity-income strategies.
This ETF Takes the Euro Out of European Dividend Payers
WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity offers a high-quality portfolio of dividend-paying equities while hedging against currency risk.
Gold Slides as the Greenback Climbs
The shine is coming off the yellow metal as the U.S. dollar rallies.
To Hedge or Not to Hedge?
There are important trade-offs to consider when taking the foreign-currency exposure out of your international-equity ETF.
Broad Fixed-Income Exposure At a Low Cost
Why iShares Core Total US Dollar Bond Market ETF is more representative of the U.S. bond market than its peers.
What You Need to Know About 'Strategic Beta'
As a growing number of new ETFs straddle the line between active and passive, investors are faced with a dizzying array of increasingly complex choices. Here's the compass you need to navigate.
Wiedman: Demand for ETFs Should Continue to Grow
Global head of iShares Mark Wiedman discusses the expanded Core Series, common misconceptions about ETFs, and what the future holds for ETF investors.
Capital Group Bets on a Different Kind of Tech
Firm's recent filing to launch nontransparent actively managed ETFs is a wager on new distribution technology.
How Strategic Beta Can Factor Into a Diversified Portfolio
Combining strategic-beta approaches with each other, or with traditional cap-weighted holdings, can offer diversification benefits, though these strategies require long-term commitments, says Russell's David Koenig.
Fear and Greed Feed 'Strategic Beta' Returns
Strategic beta indexes break the traditional indexes' price link to capture a contrarian rebalancing return, says Research Affiliates chief investment officer Chris Brightman.
A Sensible Approach to 'Smart Beta'
We're proposing a new name for this rapidly growing batch of funds that seeks to improve upon more traditional market benchmarks.
Pockets of Opportunity in Equities
Dr. James Breech of Cougar Global Investments explains why his firm's ETF managed portfolios are very overweight in equities now and where they have style-box exposure.
This ETF Has Yield and Superior Returns in Sight
Investors looking for a portfolio of companies committed to returning cash to shareholders should consider this actively managed fund.
Fool's Gold?
After three consecutive years of negative returns, it might be gold miners' time to shine.