About the Editor
Ben Johnson, CFA, is director of global ETF research for Morningstar. Before assuming his current role in 2012, he was director of ETF research for Europe and Asia. He also previously served as a senior equity analyst, covering the agriculture and chemicals industries. Before joining Morningstar in 2006, he worked as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.

Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. In 2015, Fund Directions and Fund Action named Johnson among the 2015 Rising Stars of Mutual Funds.


Investment Strategy
Morningstar ETFInvestor scans the globe for value and improving fundamentals across virtually all asset classes. Editor Ben Johnson draws upon academic and practitioner research — including Morningstar's sizeable bench of stock, bond and fund analysts — to find reliable drivers of outperformance.

Morningstar ETFInvestor features five model portfolios.

The Basic Portfolio harnesses the market's collective wisdom with ultra-low-cost funds and is the baseline portfolio against which the three other portfolios will be compared.

The Defensive Portfolio aims to provide lower volatility, better downside protection, and better risk-adjusted performance than the basic portfolio over the long-term.

The Factor Portfolio is designed to earn higher returns than the basic portfolio over the long-term.

The Income Portfolio attempts to earn a higher distribution yield than the basic portfolio, without taking a lot more risk.

The ESG Portfolio targets firms with strong corporate governance and sustainable environmental and social practices, while offering competitive returns and similar risk to the basic portfolio.

 
 
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Bryan Armour, CFA
Director, Passive Strategies, North America and Editor
Bryan Armour is director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Before joining Morningstar in 2021, Armour spent seven years working for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, conducting regulatory trade surveillance and investigations, specializing in exchange-traded funds.
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Featured Posts
New Issue: Tactical Investing

The PDF version of the July issue of ETFInvestor is now available for download. 

If the link above doesn’t work, you can download this month’s issue by copying this address into your browser: http://etf.morningstar.com/Newsletter.aspx?download=currentIssue

Few investors can endure the market’s ups and downs for years on end without making changes to their plan. There is a constant stream of information about earnings, inflation, and jobs reports; up-to-the-minute market data and analysis are at anyone’s fingertips. Investors across all levels of experience hear the sirens’ call when they perceive an opportunity to beat the market. In this month’s cover, I’ll dive into each strategy to see whether they deserve a spot in a portfolio and, if so, how best to use them.

Here's a rundown of what else you’ll find in this month’s issue:

  • Lan Anh Tran replaces the equity sleeve with dividend funds that can make big tactical bets.
  • We spotlight a pair of funds that tactically allocate their exposures: Invesco Russell 1000® Dynamic Multi­factor ETF OMFL and PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ETF MFUS
  • Ryan Jackson proves that trend-following can lead to a better-diversified portfolio.
  • Daniel Sotiroff shares a better way for investors to make short-term bets.

Bryan

 

More...
New Issue: Where to be Active
So Long
New Issue: 5 Things About ESG Investing We Can All Agree On
New Issue: Thematic Funds
New Issue: The Pros and Cons of Market Cap Weighting
New Issue: Rising Rates
More...
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Current Issue
Past Issues
Morningstar ETFInvestor Subscriber's Handbook
Introduction to ETFInvestor Model Portfolios
Morningstar.com ETF Forum
ETF Investment Strategy
Ask Bryan      
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3 Excellent Dividend-Stock ETFs
3 of the Best Value-Stock ETFs
3 Exceptional Core ETFs
3 Highly Rated ETFs on Sale
How to Invest Your Funny Money
2 Bond ETFs for a Rising Interest-Rate Environment
How Have Low-Volatility Funds Performed in 2022?
3 ETFs for an IRA
Bonus Reports Free Reports Image Morningstar ETFInvestor Subscriber's Handbook
Introduction to ETFInvestor Model Portfolios
Morningstar's Guide to Closed-End Funds

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Product Support

Inquiries regarding your subscription such as address changes, missing/damaged issues, etc.
Phone: 1-800-957-6021 | Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:00PM

Inquiries regarding technical issues such as logging in or downloading
Phone: 1-312-424-4288 | Mon-Fri 8AM-6PM
Email: newslettersupport@morningstar.com

 

Product Sales

Inquiries regarding your subscription renewal, billing or to learn about other Morningstar investment publications and resources
Phone: 1-866-608-9570 | Mon-Tue 8AM-5PM CST
Email: newslettersupport@morningstar.com

 

Contact Your Editor

Email: bryan.armour@morningstar.com

About the Editor


Bryan Armour is director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc.

Before joining Morningstar in 2021, Armour spent seven years working for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, conducting regulatory trade surveillance and investigations, specializing in exchange-traded funds. Prior to Finra, he worked for a proprietary trading firm as an options trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Armour holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Investment Strategy


Morningstar ETFInvestor scans the globe for value and improving fundamentals across virtually all asset classes. Editor Bryan Armour draws upon academic and practitioner research — including Morningstar's sizeable bench of stock, bond and fund analysts — to find reliable drivers of outperformance.

Morningstar ETFInvestor features five model portfolios.

The Basic Portfolio harnesses the market's collective wisdom with ultra-low-cost funds and is the baseline portfolio against which the three other portfolios will be compared.

The Defensive Portfolio aims to provide lower volatility, better downside protection, and better risk-adjusted performance than the basic portfolio over the long-term.

The Factor Portfolio is designed to earn higher returns than the basic portfolio over the long-term.

The Income Portfolio attempts to earn a higher distribution yield than the basic portfolio, without taking a lot more risk.

The ESG Portfolio targets firms with strong corporate governance and sustainable environmental and social practices, while offering competitive returns and similar risk to the basic portfolio.