Methodology Documents

Morningstar has conducted research on active and passive investment strategies and their associated vehicles since 1986.

This paper outlines the key assumptions and details behind our quantitative equity rating methodology.

We believe that a company's intrinsic worth results from the future cash flows it can generate. The Morningstar Rating for stocks identifies stocks trading at a discount or premium to their intrinsic worth--or fair value estimate, in Morningstar terminology.

This document describes the rationale for, and the formulas and procedures used in, calculating the Morningstar Rating for funds (commonly called the “star rating”). This methodology applies to funds receiving a star rating from Morningstar.

This paper outlines the key assumptions and details behind our quantitative equity rating methodology.

Morningstar developed the Morningstar Equity Comparables system to give investors and financial professionals an objective benchmark for comparing companies. Morningstar Equity Comparables is genuinely different to other industry classification schemes. We start from the bottom up with comparable companies, as opposed to the top down with sector definitions. For every pair of companies, we determine how similar they are–anywhere from closely comparable to distantly related based on automated analysis of the companies' own business description. We automatically analyse the text of the business description and work out whether companies are talking about similar things as they describe their businesses. Businesses described in similar terms are comparable.

Morningstar methodology paper explaining the load adjusted return calculations.

Methodology document for the income and capital return calculations

Calculation methodology explaining fee level calculation for open markets in Europe, Africa and Asia

China's economy is clearly slowing, but the real extent of the slowdown is becoming more obscured due to deteriorating data quality and a shift in growth to areas of the economy such as services where data collection is less robust. Despite recent media

October's $29.1 billion in long-term outflows were the greatest since August 2015

Details about ratings on these vehicles.

Morningstar’s goal for this data set is to consistently provide country level geographic segment data that can be used to calculate a company or portfolio’s economic exposure to different geographic regions.

Fund-level calculation methodology.

Methodology for the Morningstar UK closed end fund peer groups and category index calculations.

Methodology behind the Morningstar US closed end fund peer groups and calculation on peer group indices.

Methodology supplement for clients.

The following document explains the circumstances under which Morningstar considers funds and the indexes they track eligible for collection of Index Strategy, Index Weighting, and Strategic Beta Group. The document also details how assignment is determi

The Morningstar Category™ classification system for funds lets institutions, advisers and investors effectively compare like funds.

The paper defines the Morningstar Categories for the Japan-domiciled open-end funds.

The Morningstar Categories for funds in the Europe/Asia/Africa universe were first established in the early years of the UCITS (Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Directive to help investors make meaningful comparisons betw

Morningstar developed the Morningstar Equity Comparables system to give investors and financial professionals an objective benchmark for comparing companies. Morningstar Equity Comparables is genuinely different to other industry classification schemes.

This iteration of Morningstar's first energy-based quantitative model explores the improvements proposed in the first quantitative modeling white paper.

Investors continue to favor taxable-bond funds.

This Morningstar tool calculates the impact of user-specified macroeconomic and financial system shocks on forecast factor exposures and volatilities. The user can specify multiple shocks at different points in time and calculate the subsequent expected