Winners rationale

Rising regulatory requirements in fund due diligence and limited access to relevant information continues to lead to greater external credible fund research demands within Asia’s private banking industry.

This year, Morningstar impressed gatekeepers and the Asian Private Banker judging panel once again with the unparalleled depth of the firm’s research capability and, what is more remarkable, new innovative initiatives.

The Morningstar Quantitative Ratings (MQR) and Morningstar’s Fund Scorecards are just a couple of the new initiatives that it launched for clients in 2017.

MQR utilises a machine-learning model which applies past decision-making processes, ratings decisions, and data from the firm’s analysts to a fund universe that the firm has not yet covered. With this new quantitative approach, the firm is able to rate nearly six-times as many funds in the US market.

In order to provide a fair standard for clients to compare funds and ETFs from the big fund universe, Morningstar developed Fund Scorecards, the scores of which are determined by 12 different factors including manager experiences and past performances. It also allows private banking fund selection teams to define their own universe for comparisons that are tailored to their needs.

With proven independent research and high-quality data, Morningstar covers more than 4,000 managed investments on Morningstar Direct, across active, passive, multi-asset, ETFs, and closed-end fund strategies. For private banks that prefer bespoke solutions, Morningstar also offers a full suite of advisory services from strategic asset allocation to model portfolio construction.

For the third consecutive year, private banks have selected Morningstar as Best Service Provider – Fund Research.