Investing Insights

By Morningstar, Ivanna Hampton, Sarah HansenBusiness Entrepreneurship News Investing

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Investing Insights episodes

July 17 Don’t Leave Tax Savings on the Table: How to Conduct a Midyear IRA Checkup
Consider getting your IRA in shape this summer instead of waiting for the calendar to flip to next year. A midyear checkup could help you optimize your retirement account to benefit from its tax advantages sooner than later. Morningstar's FundInvestor newsletter has highlighted investment ideas for folks who want to keep it simple, maximize tax advantages, or strive for capital appreciation. Morningstar's senior principal of ratings Russ Kinnel shares his favorite fund ideas for an IRA.
IRA Favorites for Your Retirement Saving Plan
On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:16 IRA basics and how Russ Kinnel invests in his IR
00:01:58 One-stop fund favorites for keeping it simple
00:03:45 Funds for maximizing tax advantages

00:06:38 Ideas to take the most advantage of tax-free compounding by focusing on capital appreciation

00:08:44 Could the funds also work in a Roth IRA?

Watch more from Morningstar:
What Investors Should Watch for in the Second Half of 2026
Dividend Investing: How to Find the Right Balance Between Income and Growth
Are Mutual Funds Becoming Obsolete?

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11 min
July 10 What Investors Should Watch for in the Second Half of 2026
Market volatility tends to challenge investors' willpower to stick to their plan. That's understandable because it tends to be easier to say you will focus on the long-term until uncertainty emerges. Geopolitics and artificial intelligence stirred up their share of highs and lows in 2026. What lessons can you learn from past market-moving events to stay invested? And where are the opportunities in the second half of the year?
Dominic Pappalardo is the chief multi-asset strategist for Morningstar Wealth. It's part of registered investment advisor, Morningstar Investment Management.
What’s Ahead in 2027 and Beyond for Inflation, Fed Rate Cuts, and More
On this episode:
00:00:31 Welcome
00:01:18 Stock market's first six months of 2026
00:01:41 Events driving this year's market highs and lows
00:06:02 Staying invested during drawdowns and volatility
00:10:04 Morningstar's mid-year market outlook
00:12:19 Fixed-income and equity sector opportunities
00:14:55 Investor takeaways for the second half of 2026

Watch more from Morningstar:
Dividend Investing: How to Find the Right Balance Between Income and Growth
https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/dividend-investing-how-find-right-balance-between-income-growth-2
Are Mutual Funds Becoming Obsolete?
https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/are-mutual-funds-becoming-obsolete-2
Brace Your Portfolio for Mega-IPOs
https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/brace-your-portfolio-mega-ipos-2

Follow Morningstar on social:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/
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19 min
June 26 Dividend Investing: How to Find the Right Balance Between Income and Growth
There's just something about dividends. The popular investing strategy attracts retirees and other investors who need regular cash payouts, as well as those who like the tangible return dividends represent, even if they are reinvesting those distributions back into their portfolio. But what are the tradeoffs, and are they worth it? It depends on who you ask.
From the pages of the Q2 2026 issue of Morningstar Magazine, several specialists argue against chasing higher yield. Instead, they encourage investors to balance dividends and total return. Jerry Kerns, who's the editor in chief, joins Investing Insights to discuss the magazine’s spotlight.
Featured Article: Subscribe to Morningstar Magazine
On this episode: 
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:35 What dividend investing is and its appeal
00:03:55 Yield chasing trade-offs and dividend cut signals
00:07:47 Why consider buyback yield alongside dividend yield
00:09:44 Dividend stocks Morningstar analysts find attractive
00:10:45 Gold-rated funds and insights into the strategies
00:12:00 How income investors can strike the right balance

Watch more from Morningstar: 
Are Mutual Funds Becoming Obsolete? 
https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/are-mutual-funds-becoming-obsolete-2

Brace Your Portfolio for Mega-IPOs
https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/brace-your-portfolio-mega-ipos-2

The Portfolio That Has Been Beating the Classic 60/40, and Why It Matters for You https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/portfolio-that-has-been-beating-classic-6040-why-it-matters-you-2

Follow Morningstar on social: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/ 
X: https://x.com/MorningstarInc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/

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16 min
June 19 Are Mutual Funds Becoming Obsolete?
Bryan Armour, Morningstar’s director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America, and Dan Sotiroff, Morningstar’s associate director of US passive strategies research, explain why ETFs and collective investment trusts or CITs are challenging mutual funds.
How Active ETFs Are Reshaping Fund Fees

On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:30 How ETFs and mutual funds are alike and different
00:03:34 What investors prefer now
00:06:10 Cases when owning a mutual fund instead of an ETF could be beneficial
00:09:58 Are ETFs still synonymous with passive investing?
00:12:33 Notable names behind the active ETF launches
00:14:58 Are mutual funds an endangered species?

Watch more from Morningstar:
Brace Your Portfolio for Mega-IPOs
The Portfolio That Has Been Beating the Classic 60/40, and Why It Matters for You
The Best Opportunities for Fund Investors Today

Follow Morningstar on social: 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/ 
X https://x.com/MorningstarInc 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/?hl=en 
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/posts/?feedView=all 

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20 min
June 12 Brace Your Portfolio for Mega-IPOs
2026 is the year of the mega-IPO. SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are working their way through the pipeline as anticipation builds for their blockbuster debuts. Elon Musk’s conglomerate is leading the shift from private to public markets. Demand is appearing to skyrocket to buy the companies the moment their stocks are publicly available. But is that the right move if you’re investing for the long term? Or are there better opportunities among stocks that are down on fears of AI competition, such as software as a service, or SaaS, stocks? These big private firms’ public arrivals will also affect index funds and 401(k)s.

So what should you make of all this? Paul Condra is the global head of private markets research for PitchBook, a Morningstar company. He and his colleagues are presenting this topic at the upcoming Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago.

Why We Think the SpaceX IPO Is Overvalued

On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:46 Why SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI Are Going Public Now
00:03:10 Why Morningstar Values SpaceX at Half the IPO Price
00:04:34 How Retail Investors Should Approach Buying SpaceX Stock
00:05:56Anthropic's IPO and Its Trillion-Dollar Valuation
00:07:12 OpenAI's Broken Economics and IPO Prospects
00:08:47 New Index Rules and What They Mean for Your 401(k)

Watch more from Morningstar:
The Portfolio That Has Been Beating the Classic 60/40, and Why It Matters for You
https://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/portfolio-that-has-been-beating-classic-6040-why-it-matters-you
The Best Opportunities for Fund Investors Today
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/best-opportunities-fund-investors-today
Will Vacation Inflation Affect Your Summer Travel? Here’s What to Know
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/will-vacation-inflation-affect-your-summer-travel-heres-what-know

Follow Morningstar on social:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/
X https://x.com/MorningstarInc
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/?hl=en
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/posts/?feedView=all

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14 min
June 05 The Portfolio That Has Been Beating the Classic 60/40, and Why It Matters for You
Don't underestimate the benefits of portfolio diversification. A well-diversified portfolio can ride waves of market volatility, and new Morningstar research found that's what happened in 2025. When uncertainty emerged at times during the generally bullish market, the report identifies which asset classes performed well, which didn't, and how the classic 60/40 portfolio fared. So, what are the biggest challenges for portfolio diversification today? Amy Arnott is one of the co-authors of the 2026 Diversification Landscape Report.
Why Portfolio Diversification Has Paid Off—but More Isn’t Always Better

On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:19 Market trends shaping investor sentiment in 2026
00:02:27 Leading and lagging asset classes year to date
00:03:15 Inside Morningstar's 2026 Diversification Landscape Report
00:04:11 60/40 vs. diversified test portfolio and how each performed
00:07:38 Rising inflation and what it means for bonds
00:10:48 How retirees and risk-averse investors can manage volatility

Watch more from Morningstar:
The Best Opportunities for Fund Investors Today
Will Vacation Inflation Affect Your Summer Travel? Here’s What to Know
Bond ETF Flows Just Flipped. Here’s What It Means for You

Follow Morningstar on social:
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14 min
May 29 The Best Opportunities for Fund Investors Today
Morningstar stamps what it thinks about a fund’s future with this Medalist Rating. You’ve probably seen a star with the word Gold, Silver, or Bronze next to a fund you were researching on Morningstar.com. This represents the fund’s Morningstar Medalist Rating. The manager research team recently reworked and simplified how they judge funds to create a simpler process for investors to understand. The new methodology also brings more transparency and stability. Some funds’ ratings rose, while others fell or held steady. What were the key factors that led to the upgrades and downgrades, and which funds gained or lost status?
Morningstar Senior Principal of Ratings Russ Kinnel was in a room where it happened. Russ, who is also the editor of Morningstar FundInvestor, is here to talk about it.
How Morningstar’s New Medalist Rating Methodology Affects 11 of America’s Largest Funds
On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:33 Why Morningstar refreshed its Medalist Rating methodology
00:02:43 How the new criteria evaluate active and passive funds
00:03:07 Rating changes across fund categories and equity style boxes
00:04:09 Fidelity Contrafund, Pimco Income, and Vanguard Total Stock Market Index reviewed
00:06:25 Upgrades for target date, bank loan, and allocation funds
00:08:44 High fees trigger downgrades for some funds

Watch more from Morningstar:
Will Vacation Inflation Affect Your Summer Travel? Here’s What to Know
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/will-vacation-inflation-affect-your-summer-travel-heres-what-know
Bond ETF Flows Just Flipped. Here’s What It Means for You
https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/bond-etf-flows-just-flipped-heres-what-it-means-you
How Big Tech’s Bond Spree and Rising US Debt Are Creating Risks and Opportunities
https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/how-big-techs-bond-spree-rising-us-debt-are-creating-risks-opportunities

Follow Morningstar on social:
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Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/?hl=en
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/posts/?feedView=all

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12 min
May 22 Will Vacation Inflation Affect Your Summer Travel? Here’s What to Know
Macroeconomic conditions are squeezing US airlines and travelers just in time for the summer travel season.
Higher fuel costs due to the conflict in the Middle East are pushing up ticket prices. The latest Consumer Price Index report showed fares rose by about 3% in April. Meanwhile, choices for cheap seats decreased when Spirit Airlines went out of business in May. The ultra low-cost carrier blamed soaring energy prices. What does this uptick in energy inflation mean for airlines’ profits and travelers’ wallets?
Nic Owens is an equity analyst for Morningstar and covers the North American airlines.
April CPI Report Shows Inflation Broadening As Energy Spike Impact Spreads
On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:21 Energy prices and airline profit outlooks
00:02:40 How this summer's travel demand stacks up
00:04:01 Which Big Four airlines are most and least vulnerable
00:05:44 Who will compete for Spirit's former customers
00:07:00 Tips for travelers
00:08:51 What Morningstar’s analyst thinks about airline stocks
Watch more from Morningstar:
Bond ETF Flows Just Flipped. Here's What It Means for You
How Big Tech's Bond Spree and Rising US Debt Are Creating Risks and Opportunities
10 Exceptional Stocks With Double-Digit Dividend Raises

Follow Morningstar on social:
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X https://x.com/MorningstarInc
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/?hl=en
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/posts/?feedView=all

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13 min
May 15 Bond ETF Flows Just Flipped. Here's What It Means for You
ltrashort bond funds are experiencing highs and lows this year.

They racked up a record $24 billion monthly inflow in March. But their fortunes reversed in April. Investors yanked out $1.6 billion. It was the biggest monthly outflow for the category in about two years. Ultrashort bond funds and similar fixed-income investments attract investors seeking a safe haven. They also generate cash and help moderate portfolio risks. So why are investors leaving now? What should you know before adding them to your portfolio?

Morningstar’s ETFInvestor newsletter editor Dan Sotiroff is here to answer that. And the associate director of US passive strategies research will reveal which shorter-term bond ETFs have high ratings from Morningstar.

Subscribe to Morningstar Investor Newsletters
https://newsletters.morningstar.com/

On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:33 Three types of shorter-term bonds explained
00:03:54 Comparison to money market funds and CDs
00:07:05 Why investor poured into funds before reversing course
00:08:34 Who else are these suited for beyond income investors
00:11:11 Top-rated ultrashort and short-term bond ETFs
00:13:22 Top-rated short-term government bond ETFs
00:14:09 Takeaway for income investors

Watch more from Morningstar:
How Big Tech’s Bond Spree and Rising US Debt Are Creating Risks and Opportunities
10 Exceptional Stocks With Double-Digit Dividend Raises
Investors May Be Ignoring Big Market Disruptions. Is There Risk to the Rebuff?

Follow Morningstar on social:
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X https://x.com/MorningstarInc
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/?hl=en
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/posts/?feedView=all

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16 min
May 08 How Big Tech's Bond Spree and Rising US Debt Are Creating Risks and Opportunities
Is a global debt emergency on the horizon?

Big Tech’s bond-issuing spree is helping to pay for its massive artificial intelligence buildout. And it’s not expected to slow down this year. Meanwhile, the US federal deficit has swelled to about $39 trillion, according to the US Treasury Department. That’s raising red flags about the potential impact on the Treasuries market. Government and corporate debt are growing but for different reasons. How should investors think about it?

Dominic Pappalardo is the chief multi-asset strategist for Morningstar Wealth. It’s part of registered investment advisor, Morningstar Investment Management.

Why Bonds Still Have Long-Term Appeal Despite Recent Wobbles

On this episode:
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:29 Big Tech's AI bond-issuing spree explained
00:03:51 What's driving the US federal deficit higher
00:06:04 Calls to prepare for a bond market emergency
00:07:38 Government vs. corporate debt key differences
00:08:45 Potential risks lurking in today's bond market
00:10:33 Bond portfolio opportunities and investor takeaways

Watch more from Morningstar:
10 Exceptional Stocks With Double-Digit Dividend Raises
Investors May Be Ignoring Big Market Disruptions. Is There Risk to the Rebuff?
Vanguard Wrote the Playbook for Success. Now, It Must Evolve to Stay on Top

Follow Morningstar on social:
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17 min