Morningstar Launches Manager Research Services

Morningstar Manager Research Services combines the firm’s fund research reports, ratings, software, tools and proprietary data with access to Morningstar’s manager research analysts. The service complements internal due diligence functions for institutions such as banks, wealth managers, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, endowments and foundations.

“We’ve provided analyst access on the equity research side of the house for several years, and firms began asking to talk to our manager research analyst team as well,” explains Kunal Kapoor, head of global information products and client solutions for Morningstar, based in Chicago. “To better represent the breadth and depth of their expertise, we’ve also changed the name of the analyst team from fund research to manager research. Globally, we have more than 110 manager research analysts in 15 markets. They do more than rate and cover funds. They also specialize in analyzing the managers and firms that are running the funds.”

Kapoor adds, “Having direct access to our manager research analysts can help institutions with their research due diligence, an important part of the process of selecting investments and creating portfolios that deliver better outcomes for investors.”

Features of Morningstar Manager Research Services include:

• Comprehensive insights from manager research analysts, with access by phone, email, or in person.

• Research reports for up to 4,000 funds globally including active, passive, multi-asset, exchange-traded and closed-end fund strategies produced by more than 110 manager research analysts globally.

• Morningstar Analyst Rating for funds, which represents Morningstar analysts’ conviction in the fund’s ability to outperform on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term and is expressed as gold, silver, bronze, neutral or negative. Analysts arrive at a rating through an evaluation of five key pillars—people, process, parent, performance and price.

• Morningstar Stewardship Grade for approximately 35 fund firms in the United States and Canada. Firms receive a grade, from A to F, to help investors identify companies that do a good or poor job of aligning interests with their fund shareholders. The grade evaluates corporate culture, manager incentives, fees and regulatory history, along with board quality for U.S. firms.

• Morningstar Rating for more than 35,000 funds globally, which is a quantitative, risk-adjusted measure of a fund’s past performance and expressed as one to five stars.

• Research studies, white papers and perspective about relevant issues, investment themes, asset class trends and industry events. 

• Screening, monitoring and portfolio attribution tools.

• An expansive data universe that encompasses approximately 160,200 open-end mutual funds; 10,700 exchange-traded funds; 7,400 closed-end funds; and 10,700 separate accounts and collective investment trusts.

Morningstar delivers Manager Research Services in concert with Morningstar Direct, its institutional global research platform. The price varies based on the level of analyst access and customization, and access to Morningstar’s analysts varies based on the client’s jurisdiction.

More information can be found here.