FN looks at the value of fund ratings in assessing future performance. We looked at 50 funds that had been rated by Morningstar OBSR over one, three and five years from the date that each fund was originally rated.

As with S&P, these funds were chosen from publicly available marketing and public relations material that had previously been issued by fund management groups or the rating agency. The assessment of OBSR rated funds included four funds that were originally rated as AAA by the agency, 10 that were originally rated as AA and 36 that were originally rated as grade A.