CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, plans to launch rankings and research on exchange-traded
fund (ETF) managed portfolios later this year. Morningstar made the
announcement at its second annual ETF Invest Conference in
Chicago.
ETF managed portfolios are primarily separate account strategies
that have more than 50 percent of a portfolio's assets in ETFs. Of
the more than 330 ETF managed portfolios with about $22 billion in assets currently tracked by
Morningstar, approximately 30 percent were launched within the past
three years and the number continues to increase.
"ETF managed portfolios are a burgeoning area. By expanding the
research available for ETF managed portfolios, we aim to increase
the awareness and transparency of this rapidly growing area of the
industry," said Andrew Gogerty, ETF
managed portfolios strategist for Morningstar. "These strategies
typically offer greater tactical flexibility than a traditional
individual security separate account strategy, but no other firm is
providing commentary, research, and education for advisors in this
area. Our goal is to develop a suite of analytics and commentary
that will help advisors and other investors who are sifting through
these investment options."
Morningstar is also creating a new, proprietary classification
system for ETF managed portfolios, which advisors can use to screen
offerings based on the portfolio's strategy attributes to make
meaningful comparisons. More information about our classification
system is available at
http://global.morningstar.com/ETFManagedPortfoliosClassification.
More information about our rankings and research for ETF managed
portfolios is available at
http://global.morningstar.com/ETFManagedPortfoliosFactSheet.
Morningstar will rank ETF managed portfolios by performance
against their peers within their classification grouping. The
classifications for ETF managed portfolios differ from the
Morningstar Category™ Classifications, which are applied to mutual
funds, variable annuities, and separate accounts based on the
underlying securities in each portfolio.
Morningstar plans to make the ETF managed portfolios rankings
and research available through its advisor and institutional
products, including Morningstar® Advisor Workstation(SM),
Morningstar Office(SM), and
Morningstar Direct(SM). Selected content from the ETF managed
portfolios database will also be available on Morningstar.com in
early 2012.
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 individuals, financial advisors, and
institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 400,000
investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar
vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 5
million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and
precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury
markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services
through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has more
than $180 billion in assets under
advisement and management as of June 30,
2011. The company has operations in 26 countries.
© 2011 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORN-R
Media Contacts:
Shawn Malayter, 312-696-6050 or
shawn.malayter@morningstar.com
Nadine Youssef, 312-696-6601 or
nadine.youssef@morningstar.com
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.