The Highly Rated Funds tool
Discover investments aligned with your financial goals using Morningstar-powered analysis. This streamlined, data-driven tool helps you explore funds, ETFs, and investment trusts.
Important information: interactive investor makes no representation that the information provided is complete, accurate or up to date, and accepts no liability for any losses, costs, liabilities or expenses arising directly or indirectly from its use or reliance on it, except where caused by our negligence, fraud or wilful default.
The value of your investments may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest.
Shares research is provided for information purposes only. Your personal circumstances, and the information provided should not be considered a personal recommendation. If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, please consult an authorised financial advisor.
What is the Highly Rated Funds tool?
Whatever your investment goals, you need quality options you can rely on. The Highly Rated Funds tool makes finding investments to build your portfolio simple.
Utilising Morningstar data, the tool filters the huge universe of funds, investment trusts and ETFs down to some of the best-in-class options.
What investments are included in the Highly Rated Funds tool?
The Highly Rated Funds tool includes a wide range of passive and actively managed funds. The tool lets you explore and find funds, investment trusts, and ETFs that have received strong analyst ratings from our data provider, Morningstar.
Morningstar is a leading global provider of investment research, analysis and rating tools for investors like you. With the help of their Medalist Ratings and other additional criteria, we have filtered down the best highly rated funds across around 30 sectors.
Medalist ratings
Morningstar uses a ‘Medalist Rating’ (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, Negative), which represents how a fund is expected to perform when compared to similar funds. Any changes in ratings will automatically be reflected in the Highly Rated Funds tool.
Additional criteria
Investments are only included if they have a Morningstar rating of 3,4 or 5 stars - an assessment of backward-looking performance, adjusted for risk. Investments must also be at least £100 million in size and must be part of a recognised investment sector.
How to invest with the Highly Rated Funds tool
To start buying funds with the tool, log into your account. You can buy funds in our Stocks & Shares ISA, Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or Trading Account.
You’ll need to have cash in your account to buy a fund, which you can do by making a one-off payment or setting up a monthly Direct Debit.
Once logged in, the tool provides a list of pre-screened funds that are highly rated by Morningstar to make it easier for you to find an investment that fits your financial goals.
You can filter by asset class, investment objective, and active or passive approach to narrow down to the right choice for you. You can also explore Morningstar’s highly rated sustainable options.
As long as you have a cash balance in your account, you can purchase funds from the Highly Rated Funds tool.
If you want to invest in the same fund every month, you can use our free regular investing service to buy your investments without having to pay the trading fee. You can set up to 25 regular investments for each account.
Dzmitry Lipski, Head of Funds Research
"The Highly Rated Funds tool improves how customers discover investments by using a consistent, data driven approach based on independent research from Morningstar, opening up a broad range of options.
Alongside this, our in-house research provides the context and insights to help customers understand their investments and how they fit together supporting more informed, long-term decisions."
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The Highly Rated Funds FAQs
The Highly Rated Funds tool is a data-driven way to find funds, investment trusts, and ETFs that have received strong analyst ratings from Morningstar.
The rated lists (Super 60 and ACE 40) have served ii’s investors well over the years, and in developing the Highly Rated Funds tool, we have drawn from the concepts that underpinned the Super 60 and ACE 40. The Highly Rated Funds tool is an evolution of both rated lists, which is streamlined, simple and easier to use - for all financial goals.
We are improving the selection approach of the rated lists to a data-driven screener, which allows a broader universe of funds, whilst using a consistent criteria, rather than relying on a fixed select list.
While there will be crossover of funds previously on the Super 60, ACE 40 and the Highly Rated Funds tool, the new tool is distinct from the rated lists and therefore not all options on previous rated lists will carry over. This isn’t due to quality, but because the new approach applies the same criteria across all funds and highlights a wider set of strong options.
The data and research behind the tool is provided by our independent data provider, Morningstar.
Morningstar is a global investment research firm that provides independent analysis on investment products, companies and markets. Widely regarded as a highly credible investment data provider, Morningstar is well known for it’s fund research, ratings, and data, which is used by financial advisors and institutional investors. interactive investor has a long-standing relationship with Morningstar and value their data and research.
The Highly Rated Funds tool shows top-rated options from Morningstar based on the following criteria:
- Must be rated Gold, Silver, or Bronze in Morningstar’s Medalist Rating.
- Must have a Morningstar analyst rating of 100% - which means the fund is researched and monitored in its entirety by Morningstar’s analyst team.
- Must be awarded 3, 4, or 5 stars in the Moningstar Star Rating.
- Funds, ETFs, and trusts are at least £100 million in size.
- Funds and ETFs with an Investment Association sector.
- Trusts with an Association of Investment Companies sector.
Morningstar’s Medalist Rating (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, Negative) shows how a fund is expected to perform when compared with similar funds, based on the view on Morningstar analysts. It combines insights from the Morningstar analyst team across key areas, assessing the people, process and parent company behind the fund.
Funds rated Gold, Silver or Bronze are those the analyst team expect to outperform similar funds after considering fees and risk, with Gold indicating the highest confidence in the rating. Neutral funds are expected to perform in line with their peers, while negative ratings signal concerns that could affect performance.
Given the diverse factors incorporated into the Medalist rating system, we would not expect a fund’s rating to change particularly frequently, however significant events such as a fund manager’s departure, corporate concerns or a range of other factors could lead to a fund swiftly being downgraded, or placed Under Review temporarily while further investigation is conducted.
The ii Fund Research team who led the design of the tool will have oversight of the Highly Rated Funds tool, making sure the criteria provides a diversified range of Morningstar’s highly rated funds.
Yes, you can select at the top of the page whether you are interested in looking at ESG Intentional funds, or not. Morningstar’s ESG Intentional framework uses funds’ prospectuses and regulatory filings to identify funds that use one or more approaches to sustainable investing within their investment processes.
Morningstar’s ESG Intentional framework also denotes differing approaches to sustainable investing, such as general, themed, or funds that also employ exclusions. Investors interested in these approaches and wanting to delve deeper into sustainable investing can do so via our dedicated sustainable investment screener here: ii.co.uk/secure/research/screeners/sustainable-funds
Changes to Morningstar Medalist ratings will be automatically reflected in the Highly rated funds tool. This could involve funds receiving improved ratings as Morningstar’s conviction improves, but where fund ratings change to no longer be Gold, Silver or Bronze, the fund will therefore be excluded from the Highly rated funds tool, including funds that have been placed Under Review by Morningstar. There will not be direct communications regarding changes to ratings.
Given that we will no longer be actively running and maintaining the Super 60 or ACE 40, we will not be providing these lists of funds any longer.
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Take control of your investment journey with the Highly Rated Funds tool.