Development Status shows the percentage of a holding's common stocks that are domiciled in developed and emerging markets. There are three different classifications: % Developed, % Emerging and % Not Classified. Each country is assigned one of these three development statuses by Morningstar's research staff. Then, each holding can be assigned a development status by using its country. The breakdown is an asset-weighted calculation.
Developed markets include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, The United States, and a handful of smaller countries and territories (such as Gibraltar).
All countries that are not developed markets are considered emerging markets. Emerging markets normally carry greater political and economic risk than developed countries, and stocks located in them are normally less liquid and more volatile.
When Morningstar cannot determine the country in which a stock issuer is domiciled, it is categorized as Not Classified.