Success in protecting investor capital during market setbacks has helped Bermuda Investment Advisory Services Limited (BIAS) earn four-star rankings from Morningstar for all three of the company’s asset allocation funds managed under the BIAS Global Portfolios banner.The ranking from Morningstar, the world’s leading mutual fund rating agency, applies to the five years ending March 31, 2012.The BIAS Global Portfolios are Cayman-registered and stock exchange listed funds launched in December 2006. Morningstar first ranked the BIAS Global Portfolios funds in 2010 after three years of performance and issued a four-star ranking at that time as well. Less than one third of all funds in their respective categories are ranked four-star or higher by Morningstar.Morningstar is known by both money managers and individual investors as the world’s top resource for independent mutual fund performance analysis and ratings. The company reports on more than 29,000 stocks and funds. Both Barron’s and Forbes rank Morningstar.com among the top investing sites.The Morningstar five-star rating system is a quantitative measure based upon past returns and volatility. Specifically, it measures total long term performance (net of all fees) adjusted for risk so that high-risk funds are taken down a peg or two, and low-risk funds are moved higher. The risk-adjusted measure is then graded on a curve within each fund category.While the high ranking indicates that BIAS funds outperformed many managers around the globe, the real differentiating factor is the company’s success in protecting investor capital during pullbacks.“What is most gratifying about the performance of the BIAS Global Portfolios funds is how consistent our rankings are,” said Robert Pires, CEO and chief investment officer.“We attribute this to a very disciplined top down investment process which places a high emphasis on preserving client capital. We don’t mind falling down the performance charts if we think over the longer term the client’s investment is thought to be safer.”Mr Pires gave the example of the BIAS Global Equities fund which in the most recent five-year performance data was ranked in the top 10 percent of all peer group global equities funds showing the lowest overall risk.BIAS Global Portfolios SPC’s funds although registered in the Cayman Islands are managed out of the Bermuda office where four of the five portfolio managers are Chartered Financial Analysts. “We have a very good team,” Mr Pires added.