Morningstar's Equity Research

[10/27/06] The Morningstar approach to stocks

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[2/4/06] Many people think of Morningstar as a mutual fund research provider. And while that’s certainly true, it’s only part of the story. Our stock analysts cover 1,700 companies in more than 100 industries, including more than 85% of the market capitalization of the Wilshire 5000 Index.

We evaluate stocks for what they truly are--pieces of a business. Instead of prognosticating short-term price movements or momentum, our analysts focus on determining the value of a business, its risks, and whether the stock price accurately reflects both the value and risk.

Simply put, we look for superior businesses that trade at discounts to their fair values. The market, of course, doesn't always agree with us, so sometimes our recommendations are out of step with consensus thinking. But we believe this approach is the most sensible way to create wealth over the long term.

(sounds good to me)