Christine Benz

With a bachelors degree in economics and journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under his belt, Russel Kinnel began his career at Morningstar in 1994. Fifteen years later, Russ is now Director of Mutual Fund Research and Editor of >Morningstar FundInvestor, a monthly print newsletter for individual investors. He also oversees Morningstar's Fund Analyst Picks & Pans, writes the
Fund Spy
column for the company's investment Web site, and pens a monthly mutual-funds column for Kiplingers Personal Finance magazine. During his time at Morningstar, Russ has analyzed virtually every type of fund and has covered the most dominant fund families, including Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard. In fact, Russs hard-hitting and sometimes controversial analysis led one fund company to put his name on a punching bag in their offices.Russ helped develop the new Morningstar Rating for funds and the new Morningstar Style Box methodology. He also is co-author of the company's first book, The Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success, a national best-seller which was published by John Wiley & Sons in January 2003. Russs most recent achievement, Fund Spy: Morningstar's Inside Secrets to Selecting Mutual Funds That Outperform, was published in 2009. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this book is filled with in-depth insights that will sharpen your investing skills and help you screen and find the best funds for your portfolio. Fund Spy offers proven strategies that show you methods on how to evaluate performance, assess fund managers, and ultimately choose funds that will help achieve your long-term financial goals. According to the Associated Press, the book presents the essentials of fund selection in a way thats accessible to novice investors.Russ lives in Chicago with his wife, Elisabeth. He is an avid fan of the Chicago Bulls and Wisconsin Badgers. Russ also likes hiking and jazz."