Paperless Research

Brightest Star at SIBL? Morningstar! by Kenneth Johnson, Thomas Yoseloff Business Center at SNFLDecember 15, 2011

Working at SIBL has distorted my vision; I seem to have this sixth sense: I see advertising for financial services. Brokerage accounts, mutual funds, ETFs, bank accounts (online and otherwise) - everywhere. Do normal people see these?

Film, stage and radio stars, Digital ID 1569623, New York Public LibraryOf course, working at SIBL also means I encounter people researching investments and other financial services topics, and have been able to steer them to, and help them with, the excellent investment related resources we have. One of these, for which I offer an executive summary below, is Morningstar Investment Research Center, available at SIBL in the library edition.

Marjorie Morningstar., Digital ID 1579920, New York Public LibraryCoverage:

  • Companies (i.e., Stocks)
  • Mutual Funds
  • ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)

Supplemental Information:

  • Newsletters
  • Portfolio Analysis
  • Market and Industry Summaries
  • Educational Tools
  • Articles and Videos

The stars alone can tell / song by Jesse Williams.,The stars alone can tell, the stars alone can tell. [first line of chorus],Aladdin, Jr. Stars alone can tell. [uniform title],There are many questions vexing, many problems most perplexing. [first line], Digital ID 1255473, New York Public LibraryFeatures - Ratings and Recommendations:

  • Analyst Reports: Available for a significant number of mutual funds and ETFs and for many companies' stocks as well.
  • Star Ratings: Morningstar is known for its "Star" ratings. For mutual funds and ETFs, these ratings are based on past performance "on the curve", i.e., compared to peers. For stocks, the ratings reflect Morningstar's "opinion of the firm’s intrinsic value relative to its market price", which is found in the stock reports as the "Consider Buying" price determined by Morningstar.
  • Analyst Ratings: A new feature for mutual funds is the Analyst Rating - Morningstar's opinions on funds based on their long-term potential for superior risk-adjusted performance. It consists of five levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. It is still in the process of being fully implemented.

Zero Mostel in Fiddler on the Roof., Digital ID psnypl_the_5201, New York Public LibraryFormats:

  • Paper Equivalent (PDF): "Tear sheets" for mutual funds. Stock reports that include analyst comments and a one-page "tear sheet". Newsletters, reports and educational materials are also available.
  • Interactive: Charts and tables can be customized and comparisons between different stocks and funds can be generated on-the-fly. Real-time (or almost real-time) quotes on traded securities. Updates to analyst reports as appropriate. Screening available for stocks, mutual funds and ETFs.


Frank Wilson as Porgy., Digital ID 1114301, New York Public LibrarySample Reports - these are samples only, and are not intended as investment advice:


Ethel Merman in Annie Get Your Gun., Digital ID psnypl_the_4126, New York Public LibraryAvailability: Onsite.

Come visit us here at SIBL where we can get you started with the Morningstar database. For those who are unfamiliar with some of the investment concepts and terms, or simply want to learn a bit more about them, we have classes here that can help you. No advance registration is needed, and you can have pretty much unlimited time on our computers to use this and our other resources. In addition, you can access Morningstar if you bring your own laptop computer and use our wireless network.

New! Morningstar is also available at other NYPL centers: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Bronx Library Center, St. George Library Center. Speak to one of our colleagues there for assistance in using Morningstar at those locations.

View all posts by Kenneth Johnson