It might be too soon to say whether the analyst rating rolled out by investment research firm Morningstar will guide investors toward worthwhile mutual funds, but fundsters are paying close attention nevertheless.

Geoff Bobroff, fund industry consultant at Bobroff Consulting, said in an interview with the AP:

"The jury is still out on this new system. I would love to see that it works, but time will tell."

The usual 1- to 5-star scale used by the firm aside, this new rating system uses gold, silver, bronze, neutral and negative to rate funds.

The research firm also announced that it has started to give analyst ratings to alternative mutual funds. This category includes mutual funds that employ non-traditional strategies or bet in non-traditional assets.

"We are trying to put more attention on alternatives, because clients and their advisors are," said Don Phillips, president of fund research. "They want an uncorrelated asset class: something that will zig when other things zag." 

Edited by: HFD


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