Morningstar Inc., best known for its five-star fund ratings, said Tuesday that it has created separate categories to evaluate investments in global real estate and currencies.
Global real estate funds invest at least 40% of their holdings outside the United States, the Chicago rating company said. The new category covers 45 mutual funds and 11 exchange-traded funds.
Morningstar said it groups funds according to how they invest, rather than their stated objectives. It supplies data on more than 280,000 investment products.
ING Global Real Estate Portfolio, which has fallen 11% in the past year, leads its category in performance. On average, its peers have declined 18%. Rydex Weakening Dollar 2x Strategy is the top currency fund, up 19%, compared with a 3.8% average for eight funds and 11 ETFs. Currency funds will not be assigned star ratings because their strategies are so varied, Morningstar said.
