Evaluates both performance and risk together on a monthly basis. To determine a fund's star rating for a given period (three, five, or ten years), the fund's Morningstar risk score is subtracted from its Morningstar Return score. The resulting number is plotted along a bell curve to determine the fund's rating for each time period: If the fund scores in the top10% of its broad investment class (domestic stock, international stock, taxable bond, or municipal bond), it receives 5 stars (Highest); if it falls in the next 22.5%, it receives 4 stars (Above Average); a place in the middle 35% earns it 3 stars (Average); those in the next 22.5% receive 2 stars (Below Average); and the bottom 10% get 1 star (Lowest). The star ratings are recalculated monthly.