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November 2006
Release Notes |
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Recap of Previous
Announcements |
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Morningstar
News |
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Release Notes
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U.S. Quarterly Fund Category Review |
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This quarter's review began Nov. 15, with the appeal period running until Nov. 22. This review included all funds, and fund families with a proposed category change received details via e-mail. Category changes will be effective with November month-end processing, and results will be available on our Web sites on Dec. 5, 2006. |
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Enhanced Portfolio Statistics |
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Effective March 30, 2007, Morningstar will provide portfolio statistics that incorporate the economic impact of short positions and derivatives. In response to client feedback, we recently decided to include swaps and options as part of the first phase of this project. Currently, the portfolio reporting template and methodology document outline the standards for shorts, futures, and forwards; in December, we will provide updated documents that outline the standards for swaps and options. If you are interested in receiving XML test files for your data feeds, please contact your relationship manager. |
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Undeclared Dividend Income Within Total Return Calculation |
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Effective Nov. 30, 2006, Morningstar will make a minor change to its treatment of undistributed declared dividend income within total return calculations to better reflect actual performance. This change impacts approximately 5% of the total fund population, and in most cases, the difference between calculation methods will not exceed three basis points. Currently, Morningstar recognizes income when it is distributed; following the change, Morningstar will recognize income when it is declared. The change will affect funds that declare dividends daily and distribute them on a date other than the last business day of each month. Also affected will be funds that distribute the sum of the daily accruals quarterly or following a frequency that is less than monthly. |
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Net Asset Value (NAV) Returns Calculations on Closed-End Funds |
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Effective Jan. 31, 2007, Morningstar will adjust its methodology for NAV returns such that income distributions and capital gains will be reinvested at either the reinvest date market price or the reinvest date NAV, whichever is lower. This will better reflect actual performance. Currently, Morningstar reinvests dividends at the reinvest date NAV, which may under-report NAV returns over long periods of time. |
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Hedge Fund Coverage Expanded in Morningstar Direct |
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As announced previously, our acquisition of the InvestorForce database has expanded Morningstar's hedge fund coverage to over 6,000 active hedge funds, including a variety of new data points. We are pleased to inform you that this data is now flowing into Morningstar Direct. |
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Amendments to NASD Rules on Mutual Fund Performance Sales Material |
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Morningstar has the data required to meet the requirements of the recent amendments to NASD Rules 2210-11. Please contact your relationship team for more information. Details on the amendments can be found here. |
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Recap of Previous Announcements
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InvestorForce Database Division Acquisition |
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Morningstar acquired the institutional hedge fund and separate account division of InvestorForce, Inc. Following the integration, Morningstar's hedge fund coverage will expand to approximately 6,000 active hedge funds, making it one of the largest global hedge fund databases available today. InvestorForce's database will add approximately 1,500 separate accounts to the Morningstar database bringing the total coverage to about 6,000 separate accounts. New hedge fund and separate account datapoints will also be added to the Morningstar database. Morningstar began rolling out the combined databases this fall. Please click here for more information. |
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Changes to Index Identifiers |
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On Oct. 24, Morningstar changed the Fund identifier to the indexes listed below. The identifier is used to link multiple fund share classes to one portfolio, if applicable. We anticipate very little impact to your production since we are not changing the share class identifier. This change of identifiers will only require modification if you use the FundId attribute from your XML package files or have hardcoded the identifiers. If you have further questions or need more clarification, please contact your Relationship Team. |
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| Old Fund ID |
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New Fund ID |
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Fund Name |
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| XIUSA0010V |
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FSUSA079OX |
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Morningstar U.S. Market TR |
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| XIUSA0010X |
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FSUSA079OZ |
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Morningstar Mid Cap TR |
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| XIUSA0010Y |
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FSUSA079P0 |
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Morningstar Small Cap TR |
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| XIUSA0010Z |
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FSUSA079P1 |
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Morningstar Large Growth TR |
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| XIUSA00110 |
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FSUSA079P2 |
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Morningstar Mid Growth TR |
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| XIUSA00111 |
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FSUSA079P3 |
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Morningstar Small Growth TR |
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| XIUSA00112 |
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FSUSA079P4 |
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Morningstar Large Core TR |
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| XIUSA00113 |
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FSUSA079P5 |
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Morningstar Mid Core TR |
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| XIUSA00114 |
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FSUSA079P6 |
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Morningstar Small Core TR |
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| XIUSA00115 |
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FSUSA079P7 |
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Morningstar Large Value TR |
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| XIUSA00116 |
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FSUSA079P8 |
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Morningstar Small Value TR |
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| XIUSA00117 |
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FSUSA079P9 |
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Morningstar Mid Value TR |
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| XIUSA00118 |
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FSUSA079PA |
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Morningstar U.S. Growth TR |
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| XIUSA00119 |
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FSUSA079PB |
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Morningstar U.S. Core TR |
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| XIUSA0011A |
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FSUSA079PC |
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Morningstar U.S. Value TR |
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Changes to Morningstar Category and Rating Scheme in Europe |
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Effective Oct. 31, Morningstar Europe added approximately 30 new fund categories to its Morningstar category scheme, including absolute return categories, target date categories, more granular fixed income categories, and single country categories within the Euro zone. The enhanced classification scheme is used by our European and Hong Kong operations. Morningstar Europe also expanded the time periods used for the European rating system to bring it in line with Morningstar in the U.S. Please visit http://corporate.morningstar.com/uk/ for complete information, or click here for a brief recap. |
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Global Methodology Document for Morningstar Rating |
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Morningstar has updated its Morningstar Rating for Funds methodology document to reflect the rating changes in Europe. It also provides more detailed explanations of the risk-adjustment process and calculations. (There were no rating methodology changes for US funds.) Please click here for a copy of the updated document. |
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Improved Morningstar Categories for Canadian Funds |
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We are pleased to announce new and improved Morningstar Categories for open-end funds domiciled in Canada. For more details, please see
http://www.morningstar.ca/categories/. |
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Morningstar Third Quarter Market Commentary |
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Markets rebounded strongly in the third quarter, following second-quarter declines. The Morningstar US Market Index added 4.6% for the quarter. The second-quarter swoon brought the averages back to roughly even, so the third-quarter surges account for nearly all the gains in the indexes for the year. Please click here for more information. |
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Morningstar News
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Save the Date—Ibbotson Asset Allocation Conference |
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The Ibbotson Asset Allocation Conference will be held on March 8-9, 2007, in Miami, FL, at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa. Watch this space for more information about this annual event. |
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Morningstar Indexes—Why Style Purity Matters |
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Morningstar Indexes just published an analysis of the purity of three style index families. Also included are practical suggestions for implementing style-based investment strategies. Click here for a download of this educational brief. |
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Morningstar at Industry Shows |
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Morningstar will exhibit at the Opal Financial Group Public Funds Summit in Scottsdale, AZ, Jan. 10-12, and at the GAIM USA 2007 conference in Boca Raton, FL, Jan. 22-24. |
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Separate Accounts - Quarterly Rankings |
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We'd like to call your attention to the third quarter data featured in Barron's and Pensions & Investments. These publications are exclusively featuring Morningstar separate accounts data to support their quantitative and qualitative analysis. Please see the Nov. 20 issue of Barron's for the "Separate Accounts Quarterly Review," and the Nov. 13 issue of Pensions & Investments for the "Top-performing managers." If you would like more information about Morningstar separate accounts data, please contact your relationship team. |
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Investor Returns in Licensed Data |
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Licensed Data feeds now include investor returns in several U.S. data packages. Investor returns (also known as dollar-weighted returns) measure how the average investor in that fund fared over time, incorporating the impact of cash inflows and outflows from purchases and sales. Please click here for a fact sheet with information about this new data point. |
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Morningstar Survey of Advisors Examines Use of Alternative Investments |
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A survey conducted by Morningstar and Research magazine indicates that "alternative investments," such as hedge funds and real estate, are becoming part of the mainstream, while a new definition of "alternative investments" in North America could encompass capital-protected and structured products, commodity funds, and managed futures. The study found that investors' number one reason for hesitation in choosing alternative investments is a lack of understanding, followed closely by a lack of liquidity, and fees. The survey appeared in the November issue of Research and the findings were covered by a number of other publications. Please click here for more information. |
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Data Questions |
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Contact your account team or our data quality department:
U.S.
E-mail: dataquestions@morningstar.com
Phone: +1 312-696-6600
Fax: +1 312-696-6019
Mailing address:
Data Questions
Morningstar, Inc.
225 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
USA
Europe
E-mail: dataquestions.uk@morningstar.com
Phone: +44 20 3107 0070
Fax: +44 20 3107 0001
Mailing address:
Data Question
Morningstar Europe
1 Oliver's Yard,
55-71 City Road, London EC1Y 1HQ
United Kingdom |
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�2006 Morningstar. All rights reserved. |
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This e-mail contains privileged and confidential information and is intended only for the use of the recipient. Any dissemination, distribution, or duplication of this communication without prior written consent from Morningstar is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error please contact the sender immediately and delete the materials from any computer. You are receiving this e-mail because you are a Morningstar Data client, or because you asked that your name be added to the distribution list. If you wish to remove yourself from our institutional client communication list, please hit reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to opt-in to this e-mail list please hit reply and include your full name, title, company name and address. We will be happy to add you to the list. The newsletter is free, and we never release these e-mail addresses to third parties. If you change your mind and no longer wish to receive this e-mail, we will quickly remove your name from the distribution list. |
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