This data set provides a broad breakdown of an investment's geographical exposure. Each region's exposure is presented as a percentage of non-cash equity assets held by the fund. Regional exposure information summarizes a portfolio's exposure to geopolitical risk. It also provides a reference point for understanding fund returns. Some fund managers follow a "top down" discipline, where they direct their investments into regions they consider good opportunities.
For stock funds, regional exposure is calculated as a percentage of stocks; for bond funds, the data is available for international bond funds only, and is culled from quarterly surveys.
Morningstar recently revised its existing region scheme to accommodate a more refined classification. The structure of Morningstar's regions is a single unified scheme with some 200 countries at its base. These countries are classified into geographic regions. The regions are then folded into three super geographic regions of the Americas, Greater Europe and Greater Asia.
They are based on the following three criteria:
Common economic/currency denominator
Sufficient population of publicly traded equities
Logistics and geography
Alongside Morningstar's new Economic Spheres, these super regions are meant to provide a quick, easy to understand and unified portfolio construction and asset allocation tool.
Following is the relationship between super regions, regions, and countries:
This super region includes North America and Latin America. Within this super region, we have the following economic regions:
North America: the U.S. and Canada
Latin America: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina , Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Antilles, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela
This super region includes the United Kingdom, continental Europe (Western and Eastern Europe, Russia), Africa and the Middle East. Within this super region, we have the following economic regions:
United Kingdom: United Kingdom and Isle of Man
Europe Developed: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City
Europe Emerging: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine
Africa/Middle East: Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Burkina, Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape, Verde, Central, African Rep., Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'lovire, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial, Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Island, Rwanda, Sao, Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra, Leone, Somalia, South Africa, St. Helena, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
This super region includes Asian countries in addition to stand alone countries, or sub-regions such as Japan and Australasia (Australia and New Zealand). Within this super region, we have the following economic regions:
Japan: Japan
Australasia: Australia and New Zealand
Asia Developed: Brunei, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, New Caledonia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan
Asia Emerging: Afghanistan, American Samoa, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, Georgia, Heard & McDonald, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Norfolk Island, North Korea, Northern Mariana Isl., Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna Isl.
Not Classified: Not all individual stocks or all securities in fund portfolios can be identified or classified by Morningstar. If a security cannot be identified or classified, it will be included in the percentage of assets Not Classified.