If one of your top-rated mutual fund's PM teams is about to leave, having a replacement lined up may not be enough to satisfy Morningstar.

Writing today in the Fund Spy column, Morningstar fund analysis associate director Dan Culloton discusses the Gold-to-Neutral analyst rating drop for the five-star, $5.6-billion T. Rowe Price Health Sciences Fund [profile in the wake of the recent departure of longtime PM Kris Jenner and two of his analysts, even though nine-year team member Taymour Tamaddon stepped up into Jenner's shoes.

"There's no telling if Tamaddon will prove as good as his predecessor and former colleague," Morningstar's Culloton writes.

Also in the warnings-to-heed category, Culloton explains the recent Bronze-to-Neutral analyst ratings drop for the three-star, $1.8-billion AllianceBernstein Discovery Value Fund [profile]. Morningstar slashed the mutual fund's rating thanks to an effective price hike due to a lifting of a fee cap.

On the positive side, Culloton also highlighted one mutual fund where "process improvement" led Morningstar to raise its analyst rating to Bronze from Neutral, and another mutual fund where a "fresh appraisal" of an unchanged strategy was enough for Morningstar to boost a fund's rating one notch up to Silver. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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