Most Fund Categories See Gains in February 2017, Morningstar Canada Data Show

TORONTO, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Research Inc., a Canadian subsidiary of Chicago-based independent investment research provider Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), today released preliminary February 2017 performance data for its 44 Morningstar Canada Fund Indices, which measure the aggregate returns of funds in various standard categories. Forty-one of the 44 fund indices increased during the month, including 20 indices that increased by more than 2%.

Highlights from Morningstar's February 2017 preliminary performance report include:

• Most stock market indexes outside of Canada were positive in February, while the Canadian dollar depreciated against many of the world's currencies. This combination resulted in strong performance for all foreign equity fund categories in Canada for the month.
• Funds in the Greater China Equity and U.S. Equity categories were the top performers in February; the Morningstar Canada Fund Indices that track these two categories both increased by 5.1% for the month. The S&P 500 Index in the United States had a total return of 4.0%, and the U.S. dollar gained 1.7% on its Canadian counterpart. Stock markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were up 2.6%, 1.6%, and 3.2%, respectively, with currency effects also providing a boost in all three cases.
• Among the major sector-diversified foreign equity categories, the fund index that tracks Emerging Markets Equity funds was a top performer with a 4.6% increase, as was the Asia Pacific Equity fund index with a 3.7% increase. The European Equity, International Equity, and Global Equity fund indices increased by 2.8%, 2.9%, and 4.0%, respectively.
• The only fund indices to lose ground in February were the ones that track the Precious Metals Equity, Energy Equity, and Natural Resources Equity categories, which were down 2.1%, 2.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. The energy and materials sectors, which together comprise a third of the Canadian stock market, were the worst performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange with declines of 2.4% and 3.7%, respectively.
• Though all other sectors in Canada were positive in February, the poor showing by natural resources stocks dragged down the performance of diversified Canadian equity funds, resulting in increases of just 0.3% for the Morningstar Canadian Equity Fund Index and 0.1% for the Morningstar Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund Index. The fund indices that track the Canadian Focused Equity and Canadian Focused Small/Mid Cap Equity categories, whose constituent funds can hold up to half their assets in non-Canadian stocks, performed better with increases of 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively.
• All fixed-income fund categories showed gains for the month, with increases ranging from 0.3% for the Morningstar Canadian Short Term Fixed Income Fund Index to 1.7% for the Morningstar Canadian Long Term Fixed Income Fund Index.

To view the complete report about Morningstar's preliminary February 2017 performance data for Canadian funds, please visit http://tr.im/1VEBD.

Morningstar Canada's preliminary fund performance figures are based on change in funds' net asset values per share during the month, and do not necessarily include end-of-month income distributions. Final performance figures will be published on www.morningstar.ca next week.

About Morningstar Research Inc. and Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar Research Inc. is a Canadian subsidiary of Chicago-based Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than US$200 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Dec. 31, 2016. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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SOURCE Morningstar Research Inc.

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