Morningstar Investment Research

How can financial advisors better attract and engage clients?

Renewable energy continues to increase its share of power generation in the US. Download our report for the latest renewable energy trends and analysis.

Get our latest Travel Services report for all the Q2 2024 travel industry analysis needed to find attractive investing opportunities. Download now.

Learn how increases in gambling and wagering are driving the latest US gaming market analysis, gaming stock valuations, and more. Get the full report now.

Understanding the Top-Heavy Dynamics Among Global Mutual Fund Companies

Despite near-term challenges, US e-commerce growth is expected to accelerate in the coming years.

Get ahead in investing in artificial intelligence with our AI Networking Observer, which analyzes key players, AI market trends, and more. Download now for more.

Oil prices look weak, gas prices spike, and energy stocks benefit from M&A announcements in the second quarter of 2024. Read the free report.

Explore our Q2 2024 US Economic Outlook report for analysis of Federal Reserve rate cut predictions, GDP growth, inflation trends, and more. Download now.

Explore economic analysis, interest rates, and their potential impact on the financial landscape in our 2024 US Financial Health Report.

Get the latest macroeconomic trends and market data in our quarterly Markets Observer report. Download the report now to discover investment insights for your clients today.

Understand the latest trends and outlooks in the apparel industry and how to strategize for long-term investment opportunities.

Active ETFs offer a new growth opportunity for active fund managers.

Morningstar’s Global Fund Flows report breaks down flows by category, region, asset class and more for insight into investor behavior.

Voting records indicate that concerns over potential collusion by signatories are overstated.

The universe is growing, but offerings are less active than expected.

Read our latest U.S. drug distribution report now to understand how specialty and generic drugs are impacting the future of healthcare delivery and patient prescriptions.

Understand how the latest macroeconomic trends affect the housing market in our bi-annual U.S. Housing Outlook report.

Innovation is quickly evolving the biopharmaceuticals industry, making it critical for investors to understand the latest trends. Learn more now.

How is the U.S. stock market performing? Get your copy of our quarterly Stock Market Outlook report to learn the latest equity insights, opportunities, and more.

Can a new wave of target-date strategies be the easy button for retirement income?

Target-date strategies increased net flows to $156 billion in 2023

How Did Diversified Portfolios Hold Up in 2023? Uncover the factors behind the resurgence of the 60/40 portfolio.

How is commercial real estate affecting the Financial Services sector? Find key forecasts and opportunities in U.S. banks for your clients.

Uncover key insights about the globally mined commodities industry and find client opportunities in these alternative investments.

Explore the latest data analysis in active and passive investment performance in our semiannual U.S. Active vs. Passive Barometer report. Download now for more.

Have you considered small-cap equities or funds for your clients’ portfolios? Our report on small-caps provides an in-depth analysis on the industry. Download now.

Our latest report on the U.S. auto industry analyzes current trends and forecasts. Uncover new investment opportunities for your clients today.

What can investors expect in the oil and gas industry? Discover the latest insights in our Oil and Gas E&P Landscape report.

Our latest edition of the Model Portfolio Landscape shares the latest analysis of the broader model portfolio industry and how it can benefit your clients.

In our latest landscape report, discover the latest analyses on the software industry to create growth opportunities for your clients.

Can mutual fund managers pick perfectly every time? Not quite, but still pretty close! Even as managers give recommendations, investors should still do their research before investing. Read detailed research about fund manager stock hit success rates and strategies.

Utilities performance has been dicey in recent years, but it’s expected to bounce back. Our 2024 Utilities Outlook report examines four key themes for this year.

Discover various strategies advisors can use to foster sustainable client relationships in this report.

Different characteristics of dividend funds impact investors’ total return experience

How is the creation and evolution of new technologies like artificial intelligence impacting the semiconductor industry? Download your copy of our latest Digital and Analog Semiconductor report to find out.

The right withdrawal rate depends on portfolio asset allocation, the market, and time horizon. For The State of Retirement Income report, we modeled the success rate of different retirement withdrawal strategies.

Uncover the latest updates in the luxury goods industry, including key growth drivers, future forecasts, market dominance, and more in this report.

Understand how growth trends, key factors, and the shift toward cloud-native solutions are shaping the future of the cybersecurity industry in this report.

How does the growth and performance of the strategic-beta space compare to the broader exchange-traded product market?

Robo-advisors offer low account minimums, modest costs, and ease of use, making them more appealing to young investors. How do today’s robo-advisors stack up?

With a partnership with Luma Financial Technologies, Morningstar aims to help investors contextualize structured products' continued momentum and classify these assets relative to the rest of their portfolios.

In this report we assess if fund managers who left their firm for a competitor were able to replicate their investment success.

In this inaugural report, we examine direct-indexing opportunities for investors. Dig into best practices for evaluating direct index providers.

We quantified the consequences of two common questions: “Why is money important to you?” and “What is important to you about money?”. We examined how people answer these questions and the states of mind these questions evoke.

This report explores the large-growth fund landscape. We examine why active fund managers have failed to beat their benchmark’s huge gains over the long run.

In this report we provide a framework for identifying tangential exposure to digital assets in managed investments and common stocks.

In this report we explore how to combat overconfidence bias, despite it being a natural tendency.

In our annual report, we evaluate the 10 largest HSA providers to help investors understand this often opaque and evolving space.

Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular over the past seven years and at $1.7 trillion in total market capitalization, this volatile asset class can no longer hide in the shadows. In our inaugural Cryptocurrency Landscape, we shed light on the risks associated with digital currencies and share what we’ve learned about the future of the space.

Despite the recent chip shortage, we expect global light-vehicle demand to grow between 1% and 5% as the automotive industry begins to recover. In our latest Automotive Observer, we offer a detailed look at the global industry’s 2022 forecast.

This report includes a summary of Morningstar's newest forecast update covering short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, and monetary policy in the U.S.

As investors and advisors aim to improve take-home returns and the viability of their financial plans, our research asserts that tax management is a valuable lever. In this report we outline the benefits of intentional tax management and provide frameworks and guidelines to be used when constructing portfolios and selecting investments.

In our Thematic Fund Handbook, we address common questions investors have regarding thematic investments and examine how to assess the performance of a theme.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released its final guidelines on the naming of funds that use ESG or sustainability-related terms.

Explore activity in the global sustainable funds universe within the past quarter.

Take a closer look at Article 8 and Article 9 funds through the lens of the European ESG Template.

See what's inside climate-aware funds and how they fit into your portfolio.

Uncover Effective Strategies for Discussing ESG Investing with Your Clients

Analyze the growth, performance, and changing nature of the US Sustainable Funds Landscape.

Examine how the Big Three voted on 100 key environmental and social resolutions from 2021 to March 2023.

Read the full report for a complete analysis of U.S. sustainable fund flows for the latest quarter.

Read more on sustainability in air travel in the latest ESG Landscape report.

Take a look at the top 10 U.S. asset managers and their ESG proxy-voting on lobbying and political activity, with a focus on climate change.

Explore the sustainability profiles of Morningstar's 48 country-specific equity indexes.

Read about the ESG risks faced by the biopharmaceutical industry.

Find out how the world's largest asset managers perform in sustainable investing.

Explore the potential of carbon credits for investors looking to deploy capital in securities based on impact.

Learn more about the ESG risks faced by the Oil and Gas Industries.

Get the latest insights on proxy-voting for ESG key resolutions over the past 3 years.

Stay informed about water risk and climate change at COP27 with the latest insights from Morningstar.

Read more about the ESG risks faced by the CPG industry.

Discover the range of net-zero commitments and compare the approaches of top asset managers.

Review how investors are responding to the biodiversity crisis in light of the new framework from COP15.

Learn more about the ESG risks faced by the telecommunication services industry.

Read how ESG risk and impact help investors looking to optimize their portfolios.

Learn how to communicate about sustainable investing to increase investors' willingness to invest.

Discover the ESG risks faced by the Auto OEMs Industry.

Explore the latest emerging market investment opportunities and risks in our Emerging Market Equities report and take advantage of global equities now.

How are alternative investments performing? Read our latest edition of the quarterly Liquid Alternatives Observer to find the latest trends, strategies, and more.

In the complex world of investing, it's essential to navigate effectively and avoid potential pitfalls. Introducing our latest report, a deep dive into the power of Momentum Inflection Factor, a new approach to momentum investing that could redefine your strategies.

In this primer, we break down how defined outcome funds work and how investors can use them. With leading research, wealth managers can help their clients make more informed decisions about a burgeoning product.

Our research shows that thematic funds—ranging from artificial intelligence to cannabis—have surged in recent years, with $806 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2021. In this report, we classify global thematic funds, analyze emerging trends, and offer clarity and guidance to investors.

The Morningstar Prospects report identifies investment funds and strategies for potential Morningstar coverage. The manager research team monitors the list of up-and-coming and under-the-radar funds throughout the year.

How does the growth and performance of the strategic-beta space compare to the broader exchange-traded product market? In this annual report, we use our refined taxonomy and attributes to analyze these products and provide comprehensive insights into how the strategic-beta ETP environment has evolved over the past year.

Fund closures hurt investors. When managers liquidate a fund, investors may be left with unexpected costs and tax bills. Merged funds could push investors into strategies that they didn’t originally choose. And fund closures are on the rise—2020 saw the highest number of shutdowns in the last 16 years. In this report, we examine common characteristics among funds that shutdown.

In our annual 529 College-Savings Plan Landscape, we summarize which 529 plans are the most compelling, provide a breakdown of the tax benefits, and address common 529 plan concerns.

Understand the impact of market rallies on the US asset management industry and how asset managers’ valuations can influence your clients’ returns.

Target-date strategies increased net flows to $156 billion in 2023

With falling stock and bond prices and rising inflation, 2022 has been hard for investors near retirement. Yet our research suggests that safe withdrawal rates for retirement are higher than a year ago. The right withdrawal rate depends on portfolio asset allocation, the market, and time horizon. For The State of Retirement Income report, we modeled the success rate of different retirement withdrawal strategies.

Learn about the latest trends in the US asset management industry.

The persistent gap between the returns investors actually experience and reported total returns makes cash flow timing one of the most significant factors—along with investment costs and tax efficiency—that can influence an investor's end results. In this report, we dig into these nuances and explore how differences in the timing of cash flows, sequence of returns, and asset size can impact this gap. In addition, our research imparts a few lessons on how investors can avoid these gaps and capture more of their fund holdings’ total returns.

In our inaugural Robo-advisor Landscape report, we shed light on best practices and evaluate 16 leading providers based on their investment advisory fees and other costs, how they map investors to an appropriate asset mix, the quality of portfolio construction and diversification, and financial planning-related features.

Mutual fund investors have saved billions of dollars in fees over the past two decades, with fees hitting record lows again 2021. This is thanks to increased competition among asset managers, as well as the shift toward fee-based models of charging for financial advice. In our annual report we unpack more of the trends behind the numbers.

Our research shows that Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States had the strongest investing environments in regard to fees and expenses. This edition of the biennial Global Investor Experience report, which grades the experiences of mutual fund investors across 26 markets, breaks down the key factors contributing to global fee trends and provides a detailed look at the trends within each specific market.