The TD Ameritrade Premier List consists of funds selected from a broad range of categories by experienced investment consultants from Morningstar Associates, a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent research and investment analysis.

Morningstar Associates works hand in hand with TD Ameritrade to establish a set of criteria for an appropriate fund universe. The funds on the Premier List are available through TD Ameritrade and are carefully screened and analyzed by Morningstar investment consultants. Also, these funds have reasonable investment minimums, charge no loads and primarily are no-transaction-fee funds.

After the fund universe is defined, Morningstar Associates uses a set of quantitative screens that incorporate risk-adjusted performance, variance of returns, tax efficiency, expenses, style consistency, and style purity. This screening process yields two sets of scores: one that shows whether a fund has performed well relative to its peers, and one that ranks funds against their peers within the Premier List universe.

Once the funds have been scored, Morningstar Associates investment consultants specializing in each fund category, check the quality and consistency of management and industry events (i.e. potential merger or shifts in personnel) that might impact the fund's performance. In addition, they focus on each of the factors used in the fund-scoring process.

The Premier List selections are re-evaluated by Morningstar Associates on a regular basis which could result in occasional changes to this list of funds. Funds could be removed for a number of reasons, including: if they experience an investment policy shift, a fee increase, a change in investment staff, or if they have been closed to new investors. If a fund is removed, another fund will be added to the list based on the criteria above.