<font color=red>At Morningstar</font> ETF managed portfolios to get ratings system

Morningstar Inc. will begin ranking exchange-traded-fund managed portfolios, the company announced this morning in Chicago at its ETF Invest Conference. Morningstar, which is well-known for its star ratings system for mutual funds, also plans to create a proprietary classification system for ETF managed portfolios. That system will help financial advisers compare one similarly managed portfolio with another. “ETF managed portfolios are a burgeoning area,” said Andrew Gogerty, Morningstar's ETF managed-portfolios strategist. “By expanding the research available for ETF managed portfolios, we aim to increase the awareness and transparency of this rapidly growing area of the industry.” ETF managed portfolios are primarily separate-account strategies that have more than 50% of a portfolio's assets in ETFs. Of the more than 330 ETF managed portfolios with about $22 billion in assets currently tracked by Morningstar, approximately 30% were launched within the past three years. “These strategies typically offer greater flexibility than a traditional individual-security separate-account strategy, but no other firm is providing commentary, research and education for advisers in this area,” Mr. Gogerty said. “Our goal is to develop a suite of analytics and commentary that will help advisers and other investors who are sifting through these investment options.”