The Morningstar Style Box(TM) for domestic and international fixed-income funds focuses on the two pillars of fixed-income performance: interest-rate sensitivity and credit quality. Morningstar splits fixed-income funds into three groups of interest-rate sensitivity (high, medium, and low) and credit quality (high, medium, and low).
Fixed-Income Style Box
What is the Morningstar Style Box(TM)?
These groupings graphically display a portfolio's average effective duration and credit quality. As with equity funds, nine possible combinations exist, ranging from short maturity/high quality for the safest funds to long maturity/low quality for the riskiest.