Current and monthly returns are available for mutual funds, stocks, and closed-end funds.
Current returns use prices as of the close of business the previous day. (For funds without tickers, it uses prices as of two business days prior.) Monthly returns use prices as of the last market close of the previous month.
For funds that pay daily dividends, the daily trailing returns include the daily accrual of dividends. The month-end returns include only the actual dividend payouts. Because of this difference, the month-end and daily trailing returns for these funds do not always match on the first day of the month as you might expect, as Morningstar may still be processing the actual dividend payout.
Note: For example: On April 21, 2005, the current returns for mutual funds were as of April 20th and the monthly returns were as of March 31st.