Manage Your Money with Morningstar

Concerned about your finances? You can track the health of your investments by logging in to the Morningstar Investment Research Center, a library subscription database accessible to Madison residents through the internet (or anyone in a Madison library) through a gift from the Foundation. Some updates on the service are:

• An article titled "Are You Protected in the Current Financial Crisis?" by Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance, Editor of Morningstar Practical Finance, and Author of the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds
• Weekly or daily updating of analyst research on stocks in the news such as AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac
• Expanded securities coverage by adding more than 1,600 foreign stocks and some foreign mutual funds to their database. For a list of international stocks covered, simply log in to the database and select the stock screener on far left side of the screen. Choose the "domestic/foreign" screening option in the Stock Screener, and scroll down to "foreign" in the "value" drop-down menu.

The Morningstar Investment Research Center database currently includes data reports on 8,484 stocks, 23,928 mutual funds, and 807 ETFs. Their stock and mutual fund analysts currently issue analyst reports on 4,034 securities.  The web site also includes a Help and Education Center with many articles on investing for all stages, from college planning to retirement.  You can receive email updates about Morningstar Investment Research Center and new business and finance books by signing up for the library's monthly Business newsletter.

Want to know more?  Not so comfortable with a computer?  Individual or group training sessions can be arranged through Tana Elias, Library Web Resources Coordinator, by calling 266-4953 or emailing telias@scls.lib.wi.us.  The library would like to thank the Foundation for their purchase of the database – it is used frequently and has received favorable reviews from users.  Find out more or access the database at http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/ref/morningstar