Leo Acheson

Results met expectations and improved since the last bear market, though outcomes diverged for near-retirees.

The Fidelity Freedom Funds feature a strong team, a thoughtful approach, and an attractive collection of underlying strategies.

Layers of explicit and implicit costs make HSA expenses tough to evaluate.

Whether you're spending or investing your HSA, Fidelity rises to the top.

Fidelity's plan takes the top spot on our list, whether you're using it as a savings or an investing vehicle.

Fidelity emerges as a clear winner in our checkup on health savings accounts.

Foreign equities are currently trading near their largest discounts to U.S. stocks seen over the past 15 years.

Vanguard's Target-Date Retirement Series derisks over time, diversifies, and features low fees.

Silver-rated T. Rowe Price Retirement Balanced benefits from multiple layers of proven managers and low fees.

Spending your HSA on current medical costs? Two plans stand out.

We assessed 10 of the largest HSA plans; a few are healthy, but most need attention.

The HSA Authority works best for those who use the plans as spending and as savings vehicles.

Two upgrades and nine downgrades highlight this year's ratings.

Anne Lester, manager of JPMorgan's SmartRetirement Target-Date series, discusses increased flows to passive strategies in the target-date space and the firm's research on decumulation strategies.

Silver-rated American Funds American Balanced is a giant among allocation funds—and recent improvements on the fixed-income front further boost our confidence.

Morningstar's 2017 Allocation Fund Manager of the Year David Giroux has amassed a tremendous record at the closed, Gold-rated T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation.

David Giroux credits good healthcare stock selection, an energy underweight, and a bet on tax reform for T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation's strong 2017.

Overall, T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation manager David Giroux has a conservative positions, but he thinks these three stocks look compelling today.

JPMorgan Income Builder and Berwyn Income, both rated Bronze, have distinct approaches.

Providers of health savings accounts need to up their game, according to our study.

With broad improvements across the 529 industry, plans that stand still fall behind.

Thirty-four plans are Morningstar Medalists, and two receive Negative ratings.

Our annual ratings of college savings plans show the industry continues to build upon improvements.

Look out for three common HSA expenses: underlying fund fees, maintenance fees, and investment fees.

We size up health savings accounts' menu design, underlying investments, and total cost of investing.

Diversification with minimal overlap is the best recipe for HSA investment menus.

Our research on health savings account providers looked at 10 prominent plans as spending vehicles and as investment vehicles.

We evaluated 10 plans, and only one looks attractive for use as both a spending and investing vehicle.

College savers are likely to see better outcomes from these positive trends.

During 2016, fees hit record lows, assets reached a new all-time high, and asset-allocation techniques improved.

Outflows lead to shrinking investment teams among many active managers.

Most investment shops reward managers for short-term results, and few consider risk-adjusted returns.

2 former Gold-rated plans slip, the list of Negative-rated plans grows.

Thirty-three plans are Morningstar Medalists, and three receive Negative ratings.

Experienced management, deep resources, a robust asset-allocation process, and a good price make this fund worth a look for investors seeking a flexible strategy.

A manager change and organizational stress at GMO have led us to downgrade GMO Benchmark-Free Allocation from Silver to Bronze.

Led by manager Dennis Lynch, Morgan Stanley's growth funds practice a successful yet volatile strategy, says Morningstar's Leo Acheson.

Morningstar’s annual college-savings plan study highlights some of the industry’s most-pressing matters and how investors can pick the right plan.

The bull market in equities since the credit crisis has masked the volatility of these funds.

Most investment shops reward managers for short-term results, and few consider performance beyond five years.

Two candidates navigated last year's turbulent markets especially well.

These funds have become more concentrated among top holdings during the past three years.

T. Rowe Price Balanced offers cheaper, more-streamlined access to the company's proven allocation strategy, while Personal Strategy Balanced dips into more-specialized pockets of the market.

Returning to the open-end format provides more transparency for shareholders but changes little else.

Alaska's T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan and the Maryland College Investment Plan, both rated Gold, benefit from a well-diversified mix of strategies and a thoughtful step-down in equity allocation.

Twenty-nine plans are Morningstar Medalists, and two receive Negative ratings.

It's a heterogeneous group, and the strategies appear less sensitive to rising interest rates than expected.

Gold-rated Third Avenue Real Estate Value treads lightly in REITs and, therefore, has less interest-rate sensitivity than its peers.

Although both funds represent GMO's asset-allocation views well and earn Silver ratings, GMO Benchmark-Free is a pure play on the firm's views, while GMO Global Asset Allocation is more benchmark-conscious.

Morningstar finds federal tax savings give 529s an edge.