Morningstar will later this year launch rankings and research on exchange-traded fund managed portfolios, the firm announced at a conference in Chicago.

The firm classifies ETF managed portfolios as separate account strategies that have more than 50 per cent of a portfolio’s assets in ETFs. It tracks around 330 of these already, with some $22 billion in assets; 30 per cent of these were launched in the past three years.

“ETF managed portfolios are a burgeoning area. By expanding the research available for ETF managed portfolios, we aim to increase the awareness and transparency of this rapidly growing area of the industry,” said Andrew Gogerty, ETF managed portfolios strategist for Morningstar.

The data firm is creating a proprietary classification system for these types of portfolios and will rank them against their peers within their classification grouping. It will make its rankings and research available through its advisor and institutional products, including Morningstar Advisor WorkstationSM, Morningstar OfficeSM, and Morningstar DirectSM. Selected information will also be available through its website from early next year.