What Investors Were Researching in March

The market shrugged off eurozone worries and a handful of less-than-stellar earnings forecasts from bellwethers like  FedEx (FDX) and  Oracle (ORCL). The broad-based Morningstar U.S. market index rose 3.4% in March while the both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 hit record-high levels.

Europe came back into focus during the month as Cyprus searched for a bailout and Italy searched for a government. After a few false starts, Cyprus and the European Union, International Monetary Fund, and European Central Bank reached an agreement to ring-fence bank deposits of less than EUR 100,000 and take a slice out of amounts higher than that to pay for the bailout. Even though Cyprus was not forced out of the common currency, fears that the bank deposit levies would be used a template for other indebted European countries, and that depositors would start pulling money out of banks causing a bank run, briefly sent some ripples through equities. The failure of Italy to form a government also forced investors to take another look at the eurozone crisis.

In the United States, Congress passed a continuing resolution funding the government until the fall, avoiding a potential showdown over a shutdown. The Federal Reserve stood pat in its commitment to keep its foot on the accelerator despite data showing the slow but steady improvement in the labor market and the broader economy. 

Against this backdrop, what were investors checking out on Morningstar.com during the month? Below are the 25 most viewed stock, mutual fund, and exchange-traded fund reports in March.

Most Viewed Stock Analyst Reports in March 2013
Name	Ticker	Moat	Star Rating	March Return
Apple	AAPL	Narrow		0%
National Oilwell Varco	NOV	Wide		4%
General Electric	GE	Wide		0%
Intel	INTC	Wide		5%
Wells Fargo	WFC	Narrow		5%
Western Union	WU	Wide		8%
Berkshire Hathaway	BRK.B	Wide		2%
Microsoft	MSFT	Wide		3%
NII Holdings	NIHD	Narrow		-10%
Oracle	ORCL	Wide		-6%
Rio Tinto	RIO	Narrow		-10%
C.H. Robinson	CHRW	Wide		4%
Bank of America	BAC	Narrow	Under Review	8%
Exxon Mobil	XOM	Wide		1%
Exelon	EXC	Wide		11%
Gentex	GNTX	Narrow		7%
eBay	EBAY	Wide		-1%
ArcelorMittal	MT	Narrow		-13%
Abbott Labs	ABT	Narrow		5%
Apache	APA	Narrow		4%
Costco	COST	Narrow		5%
Energy Transfer Eq	ETE	Wide		10%
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Wide		7%
Chevron	CVX	Narrow		1%
Expeditors Intl	EXPD	Wide		1%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of March 31

Unsurprisingly, the closely watched and widely held  Apple (AAPL) topped the list again this month. But investors were also looking at a number of wide-moat stocks, many of which we think are reasonably priced right now.  National Oilwell Varco (NOV) had a Morningstar Rating for stocks of 5 stars for part of the month, while  Western Union (WU) still carries that rating.  Costco Wholesale (COST) made its first appearance in the most researched list this month. It isn't screamingly cheap, but our analysts think it is the best bet in the consumer defensive sector.

Most Viewed Open-End Fund Analyst Reports in March 2013
Name	Ticker	Morningstar Category	Star Rating	March Return
Vanguard Div Growth	VDIGX	Large Blend		4%
Vanguard Wellington	VWELX	Mod Allocation		3%
PRIMECAP Ody Agg Gr	POAGX	Mid-Cap Growth		6%
Yacktman	YACKX	Large Blend		4%
Wasatch Sml Cap Gr	WAAEX	Small Growth		4%
Fairholme	FAIRX	Large Value		4%
Vanguard Wellsly Inc	VWINX	Conserv Allocation		1%
T. Rowe Cap Apprec	PRWCX	Mod Allocation		2%
Oakmark International	OAKIX	Foreign Lg Blend		0%
Met West Tot Ret Bd	MWTRX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Dodge & Cox Income	DODIX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Dodge & Cox Stock	DODGX	Large Value		5%
FPA Crescent	FPACX	Mod Allocation		2%
Sequoia	SEQUX	Large Blend		3%
T. Rowe Health Scien	PRHSX	Health		5%
PIMCO Total Return	PTTRX	Interm-Term Bond		0%
Amana Income	AMANX	Large Blend		3%
Vanguard Equity-Inc	VEIPX	Large Value		3%
Matthews Asia Div	MAPIX	Divers Pacific/Asia		2%
Templeton Glbl Bd	TPINX	World Bond		0%
PRIMECAP Odysy Gr	POGRX	Large Growth		7%
Fidelity New Mkts Inc	FNMIX	Emerg Mkts Bond		-1%
Vanguard Cap Opp	VHCOX	Large Growth		6%
Dodge & Cox Intl Stk	DODFX	Foreign Lg Blend		1%
Vanguard PRIMECAP	VPMCX	Large Growth		5%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of March 31.

The most researched funds were little changed in the month.  Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) and  Vanguard Wellington (VWELX) were again the most researched funds. Investors still are closely evaluating their fixed-income options and also looking for ways to eke out extra income from equity funds, as well. That being said, investors remain interested in concentrated equity funds like Gold-rated  Yacktman (YACKX) or Silver-rated  Fairholme (FAIRX).

Most Viewed ETF Analyst Reports in March 2013
Name	Ticker	March Return
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation	VIG	3%
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF	VTI	4%
PIMCO Total Return ETF	BOND	0%
PowerShares S&P 500 Low Vol	SPLV	5%
iShares Barclays TIPS Bond	TIP	0%
Vanguard High Div Yield Indx ETF	VYM	4%
Vanguard REIT Index ETF	VNQ	3%
PowerShares Senior Loan Port	BKLN	1%
SPDR Gold Shares	GLD	1%
SPDR S&P Dividend	SDY	5%
JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN	AMJ	4%
Vanguard FTSE Emerg Mkts ETF	VWO	-2%
iShares MSCI EM Min Vol Idx	EEMV	-1%
PowerShares Intl Div Achievers	PID	3%
WisdomTree EM Eq Inc	DEM	-1%
PowerShares DB Comdity Idx Trkng	DBC	1%
Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF	VDC	5%
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF	IVV	4%
Vanguard Glbl ex-US Real Estate	VNQI	2%
ALPS Alerian MLP ETF	AMLP	4%
iShares Dow Jones Select Div Idx	DVY	5%
Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF	MOAT	2%
iShares S&P U.S. Prfred Stk Idx	PFF	1%
WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend	DLN	4%
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF	VEU	1%
Source: Morningstar, Data as of Mar. 31

The search for income was evident in the ETF data, too. Investors were looking everywhere from dividend-paying stocks ( Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) ) to fixed income ( PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND)) to master limited partnerships ( JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ)) to preferred shares ( iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (PFF)).