This is an identifier for a security. In Morningstar Direct, some securities have market-based tickers (such as NASDAQ tickers for open-end funds). Securities that don't have a market-based ticker are assigned one by Morningstar.
The NASDAQ-assigned symbol commonly used to locate the fund on electronic price-quoting systems. Ticker information is provided by NASDAQ. Morningstar receives daily Internet transmissions detailing ticker as well as fund-name changes, plus a listing of any funds that have been recently added or deleted from NASDAQ listings. The ticker symbol itself is designated by the fund company. Thus, tickers do not always follow a uniform pattern.
NASDAQ has two types of fund listings, regular and supplemental, that are assigned according to certain qualifications. Regular NASDAQ-listed funds must have more than $25 million in assets, or more than 1,000 shareholders. A supplemental NASDAQ-listed fund must have at least $10 million in assets, or have completed a minimum of two business years. Supplemental NASDAQ funds do not appear in newspaper listings, even though they report performance to and are tracked by NASDAQ.