JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
Can Investors Benefit From Using Morningstar’s Stewardship Grades?
Author(s): Scott Moore, Gary E. Porter
Citation: Scott Moore, Gary E. Porter, (2017) "Can Investors Benefit From Using Morningstar’s Stewardship Grades?," Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 17, Iss. 4, pp. 130-150
Article Type: Research paper
Publisher: North American Business Press
Abstract:
Interest in governance led Morningstar to develop a summary measure for mutual fund governance. In contrast to previous work in this area, we focus on whether and how individual investors can use the Stewardship Grade Overall to improve mutual fund selection. We find that regardless of fee structure, top overall governance grade funds impose lower costs on investors regardless of fund investment style. We also find some evidence that choosing funds with the highest stewardship grade may earn positive risk adjusted returns. Stewardship Grade overall may therefore help less sophisticated investors identify better-performing mutual funds.