Adam McCullough

More From Adam McCullough

A Small-Cap ETF With a Leg Up

This exchange-traded fund's efficient, market-cap-weighted construction and low fee put it in a strong position to outperform its small-cap peers.

Adam McCullough Aug 1, 2018

An Attractive Small-Cap Option

DFA US Small Cap sidesteps the most expensive and least profitable small-cap stocks.

Adam McCullough Jul 26, 2018

This Dividend-Weighted Mid-Cap ETF Is a Strong Pick for the Long Haul

It provides broad exposure to mid-cap dividend-paying stocks while keeping risk in check.

Adam McCullough Jun 29, 2018

How Much of Your ETF's Dividend Income Is Qualified?

Pick dividend ETFs that offer a high percentage of qualified dividend income to maximize aftertax investment performance.

Adam McCullough Jun 27, 2018

Why Vanguard Overweights Small Caps in Its Multifactor ETFs

Adam McCullough Jun 17, 2018

At J.P. Morgan, Risk, Return at Work on Multifactor Equities

Adam McCullough Jun 13, 2018

Research Affiliates: Spread Factor Bets and Time Carefully

Adam McCullough Jun 12, 2018

Among the Best for Small-Cap Exposure

Gold-rated DFA U.S. Micro Cap removes the most-expensive and least-profitable micro-cap firms from its portfolio yet remains well diversified.

Adam McCullough Jun 7, 2018

Tax Trade-Offs With Dividend ETFs

Adam McCullough Jun 7, 2018

How Well Does Your Passive Dividend Fund Avoid Risky Stocks?

Successful dividend-focused funds find harmony between risk and yield.

Adam McCullough May 25, 2018

This High-Quality Dividend-Growth Fund Can Serve as a Core Portfolio Holding

It forgoes high yield to pursue stocks that can sustain the growth of their dividend payments.

Adam McCullough May 23, 2018

Spring Cleaning: Use This ETF to Simplify Your U.S. Equity Allocation

A one-stop holding for broadly diversified exposure to the U.S. stock market at a low price.

Adam McCullough Apr 20, 2018

Don't Try to Time Active and Passive Equity Exposure

Stylistic differences between active and passive managers contribute to the variation in active managers’ performance, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Adam McCullough Apr 18, 2018

Stay Invested With This Multifactor ETF

This fund sacrifices transparent portfolio construction for deeper factor tilts.

Adam McCullough Mar 16, 2018

3 Facts About the Best-Known S&P 500 Fund

Gold-rated Vanguard S&P 500 hasn’t distributed a capital gain since inception, has used securities lending to generate additional income, and uses derivatives to keep pace with the benchmark.

Adam McCullough Mar 15, 2018

Why Do Active Managers Do Better in Some Periods Than Others?

A new Morningstar study evaluates whether active managers' index-relative performance is driven by the returns to their investment style.

Alex Bryan Mar 14, 2018

2 Excellent Vanguard Dividend-Oriented ETFs

Adam McCullough Feb 6, 2018

How Will the GICS Sector Changes Affect Your Sector ETFs?

The renamed communication services sector will combine select technology and consumer discretionary stocks with current telecommunication services names.

Adam McCullough Jan 19, 2018

A Dividend-Oriented Fund to Own for the Long Haul

This fund offers profitable dividend-paying stocks with durable competitive advantages at a low fee.

Adam McCullough Jan 17, 2018

Not All Index-Tracking Funds Are Created Equal

This Gold-rated exchange-traded fund offers exposure to U.S. small-cap stocks on the cheap.

Adam McCullough Jan 5, 2018

Untangling How Index Providers Break the Market Down by Size

One size does not fit all when it comes to where index providers draw the lines to segment the U.S. equity market by market capitalization.

Adam McCullough Jan 3, 2018

An Elegant and Transparent Dividend-Focused Strategy

This fund targets profitable firms with a long history of raising dividend payments.

Adam McCullough Dec 1, 2017

Previewing 2018 Global Industry Classification Standard Updates

How will the proposed 2018 Global Industry Classification Standard changes affect your sector-focused ETFs?

Adam McCullough Nov 29, 2017

Do Your Economic Interests Match Your Passive Partner's?

Adam McCullough Nov 23, 2017

What Impact Will Leadership Changes at SSGA Have?

Will Taraporevala pick up where O’Hanley left off?

Adam McCullough Nov 8, 2017

An Inexpensive Gold-Rated Mid-Cap Fund

Schwab US Mid-Cap ETF accurately represents the U.S. mid-cap equity market and is among the cheapest available.

Adam McCullough Oct 20, 2017

Partnering With Passive Fund Sponsors That Have Your Back

What to look for in passive parents.

Adam McCullough Oct 18, 2017

VIX-Linked Investments Are a Risky Bet Over the Long Haul

Recent returns on VIX-tracking exchange-traded products may be enticing, but their risks are substantial.

Adam McCullough Sep 22, 2017

This Fund Finds Yield Without Loading Up on Risky Stocks

This fund manages to target high-yielding stocks while maintaining broad diversification.

Adam McCullough Sep 20, 2017

Why Multifactor Strategies Trump Individual Factors

Adam McCullough Sep 14, 2017

More About Adam McCullough

Adam McCullough, CFA, is a senior manager research analyst for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He covers passive investment strategies.

Before joining Morningstar in 2016, McCullough was a growth equity analyst with FCI Advisors and served on the firm's manager research committee. Prior to FCI, he worked with the Chief Investment Officer at Tower Wealth Managers on two macro-driven investment strategies and a covered-call strategy. Both firms are Registered Investment Advisors in Kansas City, Missouri. McCullough began his career with Ernst & Young’s financial-services office advisory practice, focusing on risk management and derivative valuation.

McCullough holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from Syracuse University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.