Trending Research
Our latest thinking and most sought-after analysis
Bigger Is Better: Defined Contribution Menu Choices With Plan Defaults
Prior studies of core menu size in defined contribution plans found that smaller menus improve employee participation rates by reducing choice overload. However, the widespread adoption of automatic enrollment and default investments requires revisiting this research to determine its continued relevancy. This paper explores the relationship between core menu size and participant-investment decisions.
Morningstar Research | Nov 12, 2019
The Impact of Managed Accounts on Participant Savings and Investment Decisions
A managed accounts service can help guide employees on how much save, how to invest their savings, and when to retire. In this paper, we explore the impact managed accounts can have on participants’ savings and investing habits based on whether they’re on track to meet their retirement goals and whether they built their own portfolios (or picked from portfolios already built) before entering a managed accounts service.
Morningstar Research | Jan 22, 2019
The Health Savings Account Landscape–2019
In this report, we evaluate 11 of the largest HSA providers to help provide clarity to investors about this often opaque and evolving space.
Leo Acheson | October 1, 2019
Morningstar Direct U.S. Asset Flows Update–August 2019
Conduct competitive analysis, develop new products, and market managed investments using our comprehensive estimated asset flow and updated market share data.
Kevin McDevitt | September 18, 2019
Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer–August 2019
The Morningstar Active/Passive Barometer is a semiannual report that measures the performance of U.S. active managers against their passive peers within their respective categories.
Ben Johnson | September 12, 2019
Fund Family 150 Highlights–August 2019
The Morningstar Fund Family 150 is a semiannual publication that gives you access to the same analytical rigor our own analysts use to keep tabs on the 150 largest fund families in the United States.
Morningstar Research Services | August 30, 2019
Morningstar Direct U.S. Asset Flows Update–July 2019
Conduct competitive analysis, develop new products, and market managed investments using our comprehensive estimated asset flow and updated market share data.
Kevin McDevitt | August 14, 2019
Morningstar Prospects List–June 2019
Get the scoop on our list of up-and-coming or under-the-radar strategies that Morningstar Manager Research thinks may be worthy of full coverage in the future.
Chris Franz | July 22, 2019
Morningstar Direct U.S. Asset Flows Update–June 2019
Conduct competitive analysis, develop new products, and market managed investments using our comprehensive estimated asset flow and updated market share data.
Kevin McDevitt | July 16, 2019
ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape - Q2 - 2018
Our ETF Managed Portfolios Landscape Report breaks down the strategies impacting this space, how these strategies are performing against the benchmark, and how specific firms fit into these trends.
Ben Johnson | June 18, 2019
2019 Target-Date Fund Landscape
Target-date funds saw significant increases in 2018, lifting assets in mutual funds and collective investment trusts to more than $1.7 trillion. In this paper, we uncover how components like investment process, fund managers, and firm performance impact target-date strategies.
Jeff Holt | May 09, 2019
Morningstar Markets Observer–Q1 2019 Data
Get timely macroeconomic and market data you can use with clients to discuss trends, set appropriate risk and return expectations, and explain investor behavior in this quarterly collection of charts and analysis.
Brian Deignan | Apr 30, 2019
Annual U.S. Fund Fee Study–2019
In Morningstar’s latest U.S. Fund Fee Study, our analysts unpack the investor and industry trends contributing to these market developments and provide a detailed look into various elements of the fee landscape.
Ben Johnson | Apr 30, 2019
Morningstar Sustainability Atlas
Examine the sustainability profiles of Morningstar’s 46 equity market indexes using company-level environmental, social, and governance scores.
Valerio Baselli | Apr 15, 2019
Gender and Diversity Funds: Intentional or Not?
We examine certain funds that have a primary focus on gender diversity and the conviction behind these funds. What we found suggests that there are varying degrees of intentionality.
Madison Sargis, Jackie Cook | Apr 01, 2019
Global Automotive Observer
We expect global light-vehicle demand to moderate in 2019, but this may decline if Europe and the U.K. fall into recession due to a no-deal Brexit or an international trade war arises. Morningstar's latest Automotive Observer offers a detailed look at the global automotive industry’s 2019 forecast.
Richard Hilgert | Mar 13, 2019
Market-Driven Scenario Analysis for Investment Research
We recently launched the Market-Driven Scenario Analysis tool to help investors, advisors, and analysts assess the impact that a market shock to the S&P 500, oil prices, or the price of an individual stock would have on portfolio returns, factor exposures, and volatilities.
Chau Pham, Michael O'Leary | Mar 13, 2019
A Global Guide to Strategic-Beta Exchange-Traded Products
Since we introduced our guide to strategic-beta ETPs in 2014, the space has evolved dramatically, resulting in the need for refined taxonomy and attributes that fully reflect the products’ nuances. This year’s guide puts the new approach into practice to provide the most comprehensive insights into the state of the strategic-beta ETP environment.
Alex Bryan | Mar 12, 2019
Fund Family 150 Highlights–Q4 2019
The Morningstar Fund Family 150 is a semiannual publication that gives you access to the same analytical rigor our own analysts use to keep tabs on the 150 largest fund families in the United States.
Morningstar Research Services | Feb 22, 2019
A New Perspective on Geographical Diversification: Revenue Exposure by Region
Morningstar’s new Revenue Exposure by Region tool can lead to improved outcomes for investors by providing detailed insights into the global makeup of equity indexes and portfolios. This paper is a first step in helping investors understand and incorporate geographic revenue sources into portfolio construction.
Morningstar Manager Research | Feb 19, 2019
Sustainable Funds U.S. Landscape Report
In our annual Landscape Report, Morningstar’s ESG research team examines the growth, performance, and changing nature of this emerging fund group.
Jon Hale | Feb 11, 2019
The Proxy Process: Raising the Investor Voice to Address New Risks
As the 2019 U.S. proxy season approaches, there’s a new wave of interest in proxy voting and stewardship. We look at how shareholder resolutions offer insightful perspective on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks.
Morningstar Manager Research | Feb 08, 2019
Quantitative Analytics Quarterly: A New Way to Identify Competitors
In this report, we introduce Morningstar Equity Comparables, a new data point that indicates the level of similarity between companies using a machine-based learning approach.
Taylor Hess | Feb 07, 2019
Morningstar’s European Active/Passive Barometer–February 2019
The Morningstar European Active/Passive Barometer is a semiannual report that measures the performance of European active managers against their passive peers within their respective categories.
Dimitar Boyadzhiev | Feb 07, 2019
Morningstar’s Active/Passive Barometer–February 2019
The Morningstar Active/Passive Barometer is a semiannual report that measures the performance of U.S. active managers against their passive peers within their respective categories.
Ben Johnson, Adam McCullough | Feb 07, 2019
2018 Global Fund Flows Report
Our annual report analyzes the flows that investors placed in global open-end funds and exchange-traded products. We look at what these trends reveal about investor preferences and behavior.
Kevin McDevitt | Feb 06, 2019
Preparing for a Low Carbon Economy
The Morningstar® Low Carbon Risk Index FamilySM provides diversified exposure to equities across regions, emphasizing companies that are aligned with the transition to the low-carbon economy. The indexes go beyond carbon footprinting, which reflects current emissions and represents just a starting point in an analysis of carbon risk.
Jon Hale, Dan Lefkovitz | Jan 30, 2019
Morningstar U.S. Prospects–December 2018
Discover up-and-coming or under-the-radar strategies in a quarterly list that our manager research analysts think may be worthy of full coverage in the future.
Christopher Franz | Jan 22, 2019
Morningstar Direct European Asset Flows Update–November 2018
Conduct competitive analysis, develop new products, and market managed investments using our comprehensive estimated asset flow and updated market share data.
Valerio Baselli and Ali Masarwah | Dec 20, 2018
Securities Lending: An Examination of the Risks and Rewards
Securities-lending programs' contribution to performance and potential to differentiate increasingly commoditized funds have come into sharper focus. In this paper, we explain why we believe the benefits of securities lending to fundholders outweigh the risks.
Adam McCullough | Dec 12, 2018
Brexit: A Morningstar View
This report on Brexit compiles key insights from Morningstar. We examine the impact of possible Brexit outcomes on investors and what investors should do now.
Emma Wall | Dec 10, 2018
Your KID’s First-Term Report
This paper examines the requirements of Key Information Documents (KIDs) and makes focused recommendations on how they could be improved.
Andy Pettit | Nov 22, 2018
The Health Savings Account Landscape–2018
Investors have few resources available to help them compare the hundreds of health savings account providers that exist. To provide a comprehensive resource about HSAs for investors, we evaluated 10 of the largest HSA providers.
Leo Acheson | Nov 12, 2018
Quantitative Analytics Quarterly: 3 Ways to Skin a Scenario
Scenario analysis is an essential tool for managing long-term expectations and exploring shorter-term volatility. We run a market event through our scenario analysis tools to examine the impact of user-defined constraints on portfolio returns.
Chau Pham, Michael O'Leary | Oct 25, 2018
The Effects of the Retail Distribution Review on Fund Fees in the UK
We look at the impact the RDR has had on open-end fund fees against the backdrop of the rise of passive investing, using a sample of funds that encompass the most commonly sought market exposures, from the viewpoint of a UK investor.
Jackie Beard | Oct 15, 2018
A Framework for Evaluating Strategic-Beta Bond Funds
Evaluate approaches to the portfolio construction processes for strategic-beta fixed-income funds using our framework.
Alex Bryan, Jose Garcia-Zarate | Oct 03, 2018
We apply the concept of Longest Underperformance Period to factor-based portfolios and show that even factor-based portfolios that outperform over the long haul can have shockingly long stretches of underperformance.
Maciej Kowara, Paul Kaplan | Sep 17, 2018
Our quantitative research team attempts to decompose investor preferences for sustainable funds by examining the relationship between monthly fund flows and three Morningstar fund-level characteristics.
Madison Sargis, Dan Kleeman | Aug 17, 2018
Robo-Advisor Upgrade! Installing a Program for Profitability: Digital Advice Raises Profits for Investment Services Industry
Robo-advisors are developing new strategies to overcome faults with their original business model. We assess robo-advisors in light of evolving business models and conclude that select-robo advisors have a viable path to profitability.
Michael Wong | Jul 05, 2018
Mind the Gap 2018, U.S.
Morningstar’s latest annual investor returns study has found that the gap between official total returns and those actually experienced by investors across all mutual funds has shrunk to 26 basis points over the 10 years that ended March 2018.
Russel Kinnel | Jun 12, 2018
Quantitative Analytics Quarterly: What Factors Drive Investment Flows?
Over the past three years, investors preferred more established funds at a higher rate than the previous period studied. Our report also shows that performance is less of a driver of flows than three years ago.
Madison Sargis, Lee Davidson | May 22, 2018
Finding Bond Funds That Can Beat Their Benchmarks After Fees
Typical active fixed-income fund managers struggle to beat the fund’s benchmark after fees. We look at historical excess returns distributions for funds in 25 Morningstar fixed-income categories to learn what drives underperformance.
Mara Dobrescu, Matias Möttölä | May 08, 2018
Measuring Transition Risk in Fund Portfolios: The Morningstar Portfolio Carbon Risk Score
Understanding the risks posed by climate change can help investors make better decisions. The Morningstar® Portfolio Carbon Risk ScoreTM is a new metric that investors can use to evaluate carbon risk at the portfolio level. The scores can be used to compare funds with each other and with their benchmarks.
Jon Hale | May 01, 2018
Annual U.S. Fund Fee Study–2018
Our manager research analysts evaluate the cost of U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Morningstar's database and identify the latest fund fee trends in this annual study.
Patricia Oey | Apr 26, 2018
How Long Can a Good Fund Underperform Its Benchmark?
Funds that outperformed their benchmarks had also trailed that benchmark for an average of nine to 12 years sometime during that period, according to our study.
Maciej Kowara, Paul Kaplan | Mar 20, 2018
Fund Managers by Gender: Through the Performance Lens
Morningstar began formally studying fund managers by gender in 2015 after observing anecdotally that women are underrepresented in the fund industry. We looked at fund managers' performance by gender to see if the results help explain why there are so few fund managers who are women.
Madison Sargis, Kathryn Wing | Mar 08, 2018
Stop Guessing: Using Participant Data to Select the Optimal QDIA
We present a framework for using participant data to help determine which type of qualified default investment alternative, or QDIA, may be most appropriate for a plan.
Tom Idzorek, David Blanchett | Jan 30, 2018
Passive Fund Providers Take an Active Approach to Investment Stewardship
To better understand the investment stewardship activities of index managers, we surveyed the largest providers of index funds and exchange-traded funds across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Hortense Bioy, Alex Bryan | Dec 06, 2017
Morningstar Global Fund Investor Experience Study 2017
We created the Morningstar’s Global Fund Investor Experience to encourage a dialogue about best practices for mutual funds from the perspective of fund shareholders. This year we cover 25 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Anthony Serhan | Oct 09, 2017
The Aftermath of Fund Management Change
How does the typical fund fare after a management change, and how do investors react? Our research explores what impact management change has, if any, in a fund’s future performance.
Madison Sargis, Kai Chang | Jul 24, 2017
The Default Investment Decision: Weighing Cost and Personalization
When it comes to selecting a plan default investment, there are a number of factors to consider. Managed accounts typically come at a higher cost than target-date funds, but have the potential to deliver a higher level of personalization.
David Blanchett | Jun 07, 2017
The Fall of Funds: Why Some Funds Fail
Full fund closures can have significant negative consequences for investors. To better understand fund closures and their potential impact, we explored the factors leading to fund liquidations and mergers.
Madison Sargis, Lee Davidson | May 31, 2017
Fund Managers by Gender: The Global Landscape
Since 2015, we’ve studied where women have made progress or stepped backward within the fund industry. In this paper, we examined 26,000+ funds registered in 56 countries to learn what women are managing in financial markets globally.
Madison Sargis, Laura Pavlenko Lutton | Nov 28, 2016
Building Better Core Menus in the Age of Default Investments
With the mass adoption of default investment solutions in retirement plans, the type of investor that uses the core retirement plan menu has changed. Many participants are defaulted into solutions such as target-date funds and managed accounts.
David Blanchett, Daniel Bruns | Nov 28, 2016
The Glide Path Selection Problem: A Quantitative Approach to Assessing Glide Path Fit for DC Participants
The target-date decision has lacked consideration for glide path design, resulting in potential mismatch between the equity glide path used by the plan sponsor and the optimal glide path for the specific demographics of the plan participants.
Daniel Bruns, Lucian Marinescu | Mar 10, 2016