Morningstar Says Analyst Ratings Better Predictor Than Star System

Performance is a “lousy tool” to pick hedge funds, Morningstar’s Maciej Kowara told an audience of financial advisors eager to understand their rating system. Comments from Morningstar analysts Kowara and Jeff Ptak, the firm’s global director of manager research, pointed away from the firm’s star rating system as a predictive model and come in the wake of a critical 2017 profile in the Wall Street Journal.

Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc., Also read Lear Capital: Financial Products You Should Avoid?

In an article titled “The Morningstar Mirage,” published this past October, the Journal aimed at the firm’s star rating system. In a study that dated...