Understanding Morningstar's research process – Danielle LeClair

Today on the show, we are joined by special guest Danielle LeClair. Danielle is the Director of Manager Research at Morningstar Canada. Morningstar has been providing ratings to help investors find top-performing ETFs and Mutual Funds since 1985. Danielle deep dives into Morningstar’s methods and processes when it comes to determining star and medalist ratings. She also explains the importance of having a Canadian research team on the ground. Danielle explains how Canada is a different market with different nuances. She says the team can adapt global methodologies to suit Canadian market’s nuances, such as regulatory differences and currency considerations. Danielle also explains how Morningstar determines qualitative ratings. She says it’s based on three pillars – people, process and parent.  Price is also factored into the rating and is evaluated relative to similar funds, as well as passive index funds because they are a competitor to active management. With medalist ratings, Danielle says the team analyze both quantitative and qualitative aspects of a fund and compares relative to peers.

Recorded on May 7, 2024.

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