Researching Mutual Funds

The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, often called the “star rating,” debuted in 1985 and was quickly embraced by investors and advisors. Using a scale of one to five stars, the original rating allowed investors to easily evaluate a fund’s past performance within six broad asset classes.

If a fund receives a positive rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze, it means Morningstar analysts think highly of the fund and expect it to outperform over a full market cycle of at least five years.