Style Box

A tool showing a fund's characteristics such as the investment philosophy, underlying investments and risks. This helps investors and investment companies easily understand and convey information about the fund.



The above mutual fund style box illustrates that the mutual fund is a large-cap, value-oriented fund. This conveys to investors that the fund is investing in well-established companies that are under- or fairly valued. The company will not be invested in small-cap, mid-cap or growth stocks.

Investopedia Says:
The style box consists of shaded boxes signifying where the asset falls in relation to the factors included in the style box. Depending on the style box, the vertical and horizontal axes will illustrate factors such as capitalization, investment style, maturity, credit quality or goals that the asset may or may not help the investor or investment company achieve. By classifying funds into style box categories, investors can easily find which funds meet their investment criteria. For example, an investor looking for very safe market exposure will not look at small-cap growth funds, but will restrict him or herself to funds that fall into the large value fund.

Related Links:
Evaluate your investments with this simple tool. Understanding The Style Box
Learn about the basics - and the pitfalls - of investing in mutual funds. Mutual Fund Basics Tutorial
Let's look at some reasons why you might want to consider mutual funds. Advantages Of Mutual Funds
Let's look at some reasons why you might not want to consider these investment vehicles. Disadvantages of Mutual Funds

Morningstar's compact graphic representation of the two variables that comprise a mutual fund's or exchange-traded fund's holdings and risk: its investment methodology and the size of the companies in which the fund invests. The Domestic-Equity Style Box is a nine box grid resembling a tic-tac-toe square. The vertical boxes indicate whether the stocks the fund holds are small-, medium-, or large-capitalization. The horizontal boxes indicate whether the fund's investment methodology is value-based, growth-based, or a blend of value and growth. A fund's location on the matrix provides a quick take on the fund. The Style Box also helps an investor identify the different funds that meet his or her objectives. By going to the www.morningstar.com web site, an investor can simply click on a Style Box square to get a list of the funds meeting desired capitalization and methodology criteria. Morningstar also has an International-Equity Style Box and a Fixed-Income Style Box. The latter uses variables of interest-rate sensitivity (short, intermediate, and long duration) and credit quality (high, medium, low). See also Morningstar Rating System.