In August, Morningstar analysts upgraded three U.S. mutual fund ratings and downgraded two. In addition, analysts affirmed ratings for 35 funds and six target-date series and assigned five new ratings.
The upgraded funds are:
- Natixis ASG Global Alternatives A (Neutral to Bronze)
- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Inv (Bronze to Silver)
- Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Inv (Bronze to Silver)
The downgraded funds are:
- Dreyfus Appreciation Investor (Silver to Bronze)
- Weitz Partners Value Investor (Gold to Silver)
The funds with new ratings (all Bronze) are:
- AQR Large Cap Multi-Style N
- Harbor Mid Cap Value Instl
- PIMCO Mortgage Opportunities A
- SunAmerica Focused Dividend Strategy A
- USAA Tax Exempt Intermediate-Term
A list of the Analyst Ratings for 35 U.S. funds and six target-date series that Morningstar affirmed in August is available here.
Morningstar’s Analyst Ratings represent the firm’s conviction in a fund's ability to outperform its peers and/or relevant benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis over a market cycle of at least five years. As of Aug. 31, 2015, Morningstar analysts had assigned a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold to 133 unique U.S. funds, a Silver rating to 280 funds, a Bronze rating to 347 funds, a Neutral rating to 281 funds, and a Negative rating to 32 funds.
