Mathematically speaking, scoring 3.5 out of 5 is the same as receiving three and a half stars on a five-star scale. But ...

Star ratings are simple, but they have an immense effect. They increase social proof, boost word-of-mouth marketing, and improve the results of paid ads. And, most important, they influence purchases.

What is the star rating? The Morningstar Rating for funds, often called the star rating, is a purely quantitative, backward-looking measure of a fund’s past performance, measured from one to ...