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Morningstar Creates Risk Analyzer Tool to Help Investors Assess Overall Portfolio Risk Risk Analyzer helps investors identify the riskiness of their portfolios, determine which investments contribute to the risk, and, if necessary, adjust the risk level of their portfolios. The new tool offers an interactive graph that shows the amount investors may expect to lose in adverse market conditions. "Investing is always a balancing act between risk and return," said Mark Wright, director of tools and portfolio content for Morningstar.com. "Now we’ve tipped the scales in investors’ favor with a tool that removes the guesswork. And we've done it in a straightforward, meaningful way. Instead of displaying abstract measures that can confuse investors, Risk Analyzer shows potential dollar losses for a particular portfolio, something everyone can easily understand." Risk Analyzer displays data on stock and mutual fund holdings within an investor’s portfolio, illustrating how each holding contributes to overall portfolio risk. If investors find any holdings that are adding a great amount of risk, they can adjust the amount of these investments in their portfolios. "This new feature is a powerful addition to our suite of online investment tools," Wright said. "We've always advised investors to ask themselves if they can handle potential losses of a particular mutual fund. Risk Analyzer asks the same question for their entire portfolio." Morningstar.com’s suite of online tools helps investors create, manage and analyze their investment portfolios. The site's Tracking feature allows investors to import portfolios from software programs such as Quicken and Microsoft, or to create their own portfolios. The Portfolio X-Ray SM application breaks down portfolios in eight categories, including asset allocation, style box diversification, stock type, and top 10 holdings, providing investors with better insight into what they actually own and how their portfolios compare to a benchmark index. Morningstar.com Premium members have access to other portfolio tools such as X-Ray Diagnostics®, a narrative tool that evaluates individual portfolios in six areas – asset allocation, style box diversification, stock sector, stock type, world regions, and fees and expenses – with detailed explanations about this data for a particular portfolio. Another tool, Portfolio Allocator, helps members create portfolios from scratch or rebalance an existing one, based on their personal investment objectives. About Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar.com is listed among the top investing sites by publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Worth, and U.S. News & World Report. Morningstar provides investment information for a number of leading Web sites, including Microsoft MoneyCentral, Quicken.com, America Online, Yahoo! Finance, and Netscape Personal Finance.
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For more information, contact: Kathy Habiger |