Morningstar : Assigns New Analyst Ratings to 11 U.S. Funds and Four Separately Managed Accounts; Upgrades Seven Funds and One Separately Managed Account; Downgrades 10 Funds and One Separately Managed Account in December 2018

CHICAGO, Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has published a summary of Morningstar Analyst Rating™ activity for 158 U.S. open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and eight separately managed accounts (SMAs) that occurred in December 2018. The Morningstar Analyst Rating for funds represents Morningstar's conviction in the fund's ability to outperform on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. The five-tiered, qualitative Morningstar Analyst Rating scale has three positive levels, indicating Morningstar Medalists-Gold, Silver, and Bronze-in addition to Neutral and Negative ratings.

In December, Morningstar's manager research group assigned new ratings to 11 U.S. funds and four SMAs. In addition, analysts upgraded ratings for seven funds and one SMA, downgraded ratings for 10 funds and one SMA, affirmed ratings for 127 funds and two SMAs, and placed three funds under review.

'T. Rowe Price New Horizons was upgraded to Gold from Silver in December due to its ability to remain a superb long-term option despite a growing asset base,' said Laura Pavlenko Lutton, Morningstar's North American practice leader, manager research. 'Henry Ellenbogen began managing the fund in March 2010 and has outperformed 99 percent of peers by focusing on emerging growth companies with strong prospects. The fund is large but diversified, and reasonable fees further its appeal.'

As of Dec. 31, 2018, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 161 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 381 funds, a Bronze rating to 610 funds, a Neutral rating to 729 funds, and a Negative rating to 37 funds. Morningstar Medalists currently account for approximately five percent of unique mutual funds available for sale in the United States and 61 percent of assets under management. Morningstar's manager research analysts rate approximately $11.2 trillion of U.S. investor assets, or approximately 69 percent of total investor assets in the United States.

The following Morningstar Analyst Rating changes occurred in December 2018:

	Previous Morningstar Analyst Rating	Current Morningstar Analyst Rating
New Ratings
American Century Inflation Adjusted Bond	None	Neutral
AMG Managers Emerging Opportunities	None	Neutral
Bernzott Capital US Small Cap Value (SMA)	None	Neutral
Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth	None	Neutral
Eaton Vance Global Macro Absolute Return	None	Bronze
Eaton Vance Global Macro Absolute Return Advantage	None	Neutral
JPMorgan Small Cap Core	None	Bronze
Nuveen Core Fixed Income (SMA)	None	Neutral
T. Rowe Price Summit Municipal Income	None	Gold
Voya Intermediate Fixed Income (SMA)	None	Neutral
Voya International Index Portfolio	None	Neutral
Voya MidCap Opportunities Portfolio	None	Neutral
Voya Short Term Bond	None	Neutral
Voya American Century Small-Mid Cap Value	None	Bronze
WEDGE Core Aggregate Fixed Income (SMA)	None	Bronze
Upgrades
AQR Risk Parity	Neutral	Bronze
Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF	Bronze	Silver
JHancock Balanced	Neutral	Bronze
PIMCO Dynamic Bond	Neutral	Bronze
River Road Dividend All-Cap Value Composite (SMA)	Bronze	Silver
T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Growth	Bronze	Silver
T. Rowe Price New Horizons	Silver	Gold
Vanguard US Growth	Neutral	Bronze
Downgrades
Aberdeen Emerging Markets	Silver	Bronze
Columbia Income Builder	Bronze	Neutral
Emerging Markets Equity (SMA)	Silver	Bronze
Fidelity Advisor Industrials	Bronze	Neutral
Fidelity Select Industrials	Bronze	Neutral
Goldman Sachs Multi-Manager Alternatives	Neutral	Negative
JHancock Global Absolute Return Strategies	Bronze	Neutral
LKCM Equity	Silver	Bronze
MFS Utilities	Silver	Bronze
TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value Retire	Bronze	Neutral
Voya Global Equity Dividend	Neutral	Negative
Under Review
MainStay MacKay International Opportunities	Neutral	Under Review
MainStay MacKay U.S. Equity Opportunities	Neutral	Under Review
Vanguard Mid Cap Growth	Bronze	Under Review

A list of the Analyst Ratings for 127 U.S. funds and two SMAs that Morningstar affirmed in December is available here.

A summary of last month's Morningstar Analyst Rating changes for U.S. funds is available on Morningstar.com in the latest Fund Spy: Medalist Edition here.

Morningstar launched its Analyst Rating for funds and Global Fund Reports in December 2011. Morningstar Medalists-Gold-, Silver-, and Bronze-rated funds-are funds that analysts determine are likely to outperform their peer groups and/or relevant benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over a market cycle of at least five years. The differences between the positive ratings indicate the level of the analyst's conviction in a fund's future performance. Analysts arrive at a rating through an evaluation of five key pillars: People, Process, Parent, Performance, and Price. The Analyst Rating methodology for mutual funds is available here and for ETFs here. The Analyst Rating methodology for SMAs is available here.

To view a complete list and supporting analysis for Analyst Ratings for U.S. funds, please visit www.morningstar.com. Premium Members have access to a Morningstar Medalists screener, where users can sort funds by Morningstar Rating, Morningstar Analyst Rating, Fund Family, Manager Tenure, Expense Ratio, and other metrics. Morningstar's Global Fund Reports, in-depth research reports that include a wealth of data and analysis, are available in Morningstar Direct^SM, the company's web-based global investment analysis platform for institutional investors, and in Morningstar Office^SM, a global practice and portfolio management solution for advisors.

Morningstar has approximately 115 manager research analysts worldwide who cover approximately 4,315 funds. The company provides data on approximately 240,940 open-end mutual funds, 12,200 closed-end funds, and 16,150 exchange-traded product listings as of Sept. 30, 2018.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $207 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2018. The company has operations in 27 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

Morningstar's Manager Research Group consists of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. including, but not limited to, Morningstar Research Services LLC. Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar's Manager Research Group's current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause such expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Analyst Ratings are not guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or a fund's or separately managed account's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities or a separately managed account investment strategy in this press release should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities or to invest in accordance with that strategy.

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