20 Fund Upgrades From 2017

This article was originally published in the December 2017 issue of Morningstar FundInvestor. Download a complimentary copy of FundInvestor here.

Mutual funds are long-term vehicles. But the money management world doesn't sit still, and neither do our Morningstar Analyst Ratings. We keep an eye out for changes in management, strategy, fees, parent company, and returns and update our Analyst Ratings accordingly.

The changes are often subtler with ratings upgrades than downgrades, where manager departures can generate a lot of drama. An upgrade can be based on seeing a manager gradually prove himself. An upgrade can reflect additional research we've done that convinces us of a fund's merits or falling expense ratios that underscore a fund's strengths.

I've chosen 20 funds that grew in our esteem over 2017. Let's begin with funds that were raised to Gold.

Newly Silver

To Bronze From Neutral There is no set time period for a manager to prove his or her skill, but we frequently start seeing signs of skill as well as luck around the five-year mark. It varies quite a bit from fund to fund, though, as a manager's analyst team and strategy can be just as important as a manager's past record elsewhere.