The Ibbotson Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation (SBBI) Classic Yearbook is considered to be the industry standard for historical market information. It's used by thousands of investment professionals and academics. Pioneered by Ibbotson Associates (a Morningstar company), the Ibbotson SBBI Classic Yearbook Chapter 1 provides authoritative, insightful, and easy-to-understand data and analysis of domestic and international markets--and it's now available via Morningstar Investment Research Center.

To gain access to the Ibbotson SBBI Classic Yearbook data and analysis, click on the Industries Module on the Morningstar Investment Research Center homepage. A link to the PDF document is located on the lower left-hand corner of the screen.

The document provides a nice snapshot of what happened in the market and economy in 2007 market. Gross domestic product, corporate earnings, the Federal Reserve, oil/gas/gold/currencies, the housing market, retail sales, and Iraq are some of many topics discussed by leading financial and economic experts from Ibbotson Associates and Morningstar.

The Ibbotson SBBI Classic Yearbook Chapter 1 also features numerous charts and graphs of U.S. investment indexes, compound annual rates of return for stocks, bonds, bills, and the rate of inflation, annual and monthly total returns by said categories, and quarterly market segment returns, among others.

Patrons can utilize this new report in conjunction with existing data and analysis available in the Industries Module to do the following:

Research by Sector
Read Ibbotson's take on various broad economic conditions. Then view sector data in the Industries Module to compare market reactions, identify strengths or weaknesses, and gain a deeper understanding of domestic and international economies.

Research by Industry
Read Ibbotson's detailed discussion of numerous industry specific issues. Then drill down into industries in the Industries Module to see how that specific segment is reacting, identify specific strengths or weaknesses, and gain a deeper understanding of a specific industry.

Research by Geographical Region
Read Ibbotson's analysis of some of the world's key international issues and conflicts. Then take advantage of the Industries Module to view index data and gain a high-level perspective of performance by geographic region as well as numerous other variables, such as style, sector, moat, asset class, and so on.

This new Ibbotson data and analysis will be updated yearly as it is published. The 2008 update will be posted to Morningstar Investment Research Center when it publishes in mid-March 2009.

"The economy is all over the map," notes Jane Gill, public services coordinator at Bethlehem Area Public Library. And because of it, more people are interested in the economy and the markets before. This provides a great opportunity to sit down with patrons--young and old--to "show and tell" them all about Morningstar Investment Research Center.

"We place little signs on the shelf in our personal finance section to promote the database," says Gill. They also have a blog, scrolling ads on their Web site, and numerous other promotions. But, she says, the signs and advertisements aren't just there to encourage patrons. They also remind librarians and other information professionals to bring up Morningstar Investment Research Center and offer one-on-one training.

Word-of-mouth marketing and one-on-one "show and tell" tutorials are part of Bethlehem Area Public Library's strategy to get the word out about Morningstar Investment Research Center.

So when patrons agree to sit down and go through the database, information professionals grab a "We Want You to Know" worksheet and put on "a little show and tell right then and there," says Gill.

She says that when patrons have a question about a particular topic and it can be answered right then and there, it has the most impact. These worksheets allow information professionals to do just that and also keep patrons engaged long after the tutorial has ended.

The "We Want You to Know" worksheets are essentially marketing one-sheets that highlight database features and even allow space for information professionals to write down links to Morningstar Investment Research Center resources that patrons can access from home via remote access.

The worksheets are especially appealing to previous print-only patrons. All they have to do is go home and access the database, type in the link, and they are back at where they left off in their tutorial. The worksheets help guide them through the database and allow them to become more comfortable with Web-based resources--on their own schedule.

For quick and easy content about Morningstar Investment Research Center to create your own worksheets, log on to the Client Site. There are numerous marketing resources for you to utilize--all for free, all the time.

When it comes to risking your money in the stock market, there's theory, and then there's reality.

In theory, it's much better to be a buyer when the market is down, because you're able to buy more while prices are low.

But when stock prices are dropping further and further by the day, as they have been lately, it's easy to look at the declining values of our portfolios and want to chuck that theory out the window. Even if you're not inclined to retreat to cash, you may find yourself thinking twice about writing a check to your mutual funds. You may also be questioning your investment game plan. You wonder: Do I have enough in bonds? How low can stocks go? And is the fact that stocks have outpaced bonds over very long periods of time indicative of how they're apt to behave in the future?

Here are some tips on what to do--and even more important, what not to do--when the market gyrates like it has over the past several months.

1. Tune out the noise.
The best investors know that the prices of the securities they hold move around a lot more than do the values of the actual businesses. Thus, instead of fixating on how the market is responding to their picks, they concentrate on the picks themselves. If nothing has transpired to alter their holdings' fundamental attractiveness, they don't worry when their portfolios are down, and they often take advantage of price weakness to buy more of what they like.

Even if you don't buy individual stocks, you should take the same approach to managing your own portfolio. If you've crafted a portfolio of investments that makes sense for you given your time horizon and risk tolerance, that same general framework should still apply even after the market has dropped.

2. Focus on what you can control.
Rather than focusing on factors that you can't control--namely, the market's direction--it's empowering to stay squarely focused on those issues that you can.

Make sure that you're confident in your individual-investment selections. If your fund manager is experienced and is employing a sensible strategy, you may find that a down market is an ideal time to add to your favorites, not subtract from them. A link to our Fund (and Stock) Recommendations are located right on the Morningstar Investment Research Center homepage.

You'll also want to be sure that your investment-related costs are as low as they can possibly be. Start by pruning any high-cost mutual funds from your portfolio. If your stock funds are charging more than 1.25% in expenses or you're paying more than 0.75% for any of your bond funds, shop around; you're apt to find cheaper alternatives that can play the same role in your portfolio just as well as the costly offerings do. (International and small-cap stock funds may charge more than 1.25% for their services, but there's almost never a good reason to pay more than 1.5% for any type of fund.)

Don't stop with expense ratios. Managers who trade frequently often rack up high transaction costs; although these trading costs aren't reflected in your funds' expense ratios, they nonetheless can drag on your bottom line. The same goes for taxes, which are really just another form of costs that you can manage if you set your mind to it. To that end, avail yourself of all of the tax-sheltered savings options you can, from 401(k)s to IRAs to 529s, and pay close attention to the types of investments you're putting in your taxable accounts.

Finally, consider ratcheting up your savings rate. If you were to set aside an extra $1,000 a year for the next 20 years, and if that money in turn were to earn a 7% annualized return, you'd add an additional $41,000 to your overall nest egg.

3. Check your time horizon.
If you find yourself wincing over the market's every gyration, it could be an indication that your portfolio is too risky given your time horizon. Conventional financial-planning wisdom holds that you should set aside at least six months' worth of living expenses in a CD or money market fund; you might also consider an ultrashort-term bond fund for this role. Stash any assets that you expect to tap within the next five years in a short- or intermediate-term bond fund, where any fluctuations in your principal value are apt to be quite minor.

4. Avoid "sure things."
Although the broad stock market is down this year, there have been a few tiny pockets of strength. Short-term Treasury bonds have been particularly stable, for example. It's certainly tempting to shift at least part of your portfolio into whatever has been holding up well lately, but think twice before doing so.

For one thing, your portfolio may already have some exposure to that market sector. Moreover, the fact that a security type has performed particularly well during a rough patch for the stock market doesn't mean that it will continue to do so. In fact, many bond-market experts think Treasuries are pricey at this juncture; they're finding much better bargains among high-quality government bonds.

5. Swim against the tide.
Finally, if you must make adjustments to your portfolio amid a falling market, be smart about it. Rather than chasing those pockets of the market that have recently been hot, consider devoting a bigger share of your portfolio to sectors that have struggled lately. You might consider putting fresh money to work in one or more of the value funds in your portfolio, thereby taking advantage of your manager's ability to scoop up some bargains while the market is down. You'll have to hold your nose when adding money to these funds--because most value offerings' recent results have been terrible. Nonetheless, our Fund Recommendations list is a good way to hone in on the most worthwhile funds in the small-, mid-, and large-cap value categories. And if individual stocks have a home in your portfolio, check out Morningstar's 5-star-rated stocks, which have risen to the top of the heap because our stock analysts believe that they're attractively valued right now.

It's that time of year again when we are all gearing up for the holidays--busy making plans, buying gifts, and monitoring our spending. However, this busy holiday season also correlates with the highest average monthly page views for Morningstar Investment Research Center.

It is likely for a variety of reasons. But one that has continued to attract great attention is the seasonal popularity of Morningstar Portfolio X-Ray. Patrons might be evaluating their year-end equity bonuses, re-evaluating their 401(k) for the New Year, or just sharing their favorite investment tool with family and friends. Regardless, patrons everywhere are using the tool to input and analyze their portfolio by sector, stock type, geographical asset allocation, and much more.

So to help you promote the tool and even use it for yourself, this month's Training Corner will cover Morningstar Portfolio X-Ray.

The first step to performing an X-Ray is to input your holdings. Keep in mind you can enter funds, stocks, ETFs, and even cash into your portfolio. You can also enter the actual dollar amounts, or base it on percentages.

When you view the portfolio you will see an overall breakdown of the holdings. Think of this as the snapshot view of a mutual fund page. Here you will find asset allocation and the percent exposure of your overall portfolio by sector and stock type. You will also find expense ratio information, stock stats, and any international exposure.

Although the X-Ray Overview is impressive, just imagine if there was a financial professional there to explain those results to you. Well, if you go to the drop-down box and select Interpreter you get just that--an explanation of the data. This is an extremely helpful feature because it will point out any sectors or stock types that may be exceeding or falling short of the benchmark. Not only that, but X-Ray will also tell you what sort of asset mix you have and the investment horizon that will most likely suit the portfolio.

I recommend reading the Portfolio Strategies article on the Help and Education page of Morningstar Investment Research Center. The article is by our personal finance specialist and goes through five steps to give your portfolio a year-end checkup.