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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.biasafe.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Starting Universe vs. Eligible Universe

The Starting Universe is the broad source universe selected at the beginning of the step.The Eligible Universe is the refined universe that remains after all filters, exclusions, and screens are applied.For example, a user may start with a global point-in-time equity universe, then narrow it by geography, size segment, security type, liquidity, sanctions screens, and discretionary exclusions. The securities that remain after these rules are applied form the final eligible universe.

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Starting Universe

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The Starting Universe defines the broad source universe used as the foundation for the model’s eligible universe.
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This section is based on the selected index provider and index universe. BIASafe provides a list of available Morningstar point-in-time indexes that users can search, compare, and select from, including:
The Morningstar US Target Market Exposure Index provides broad exposure to the U.S. public equity market across large- and mid-cap stocks. It represents the top 85% of the U.S. investable universe by market capitalization, with eligible stocks weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization. It can be used as a U.S. large- and mid-cap equity starting universe and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the S&P 500 Index.Index Code: MSUTMETU
Coverage: United States
Countries: 1
Securities: Approximately 500 
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: Large- & Mid-Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1998
The Morningstar US Market Extended Index provides broad exposure to the U.S. public equity market. It represents the top 99.5% of the U.S. investable universe by market capitalization, with eligible stocks weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization. It can be used as a U.S. all-cap equity starting universe and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the Russell 3000 Index.Index Code: MUMEXTGU
Coverage: United States
Countries: 1
Securities: Approximately 2,400
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: All Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1997
The Morningstar Canada Domestic Index provides broad exposure to the Canadian public equity market. It represents the top 97% of the Canadian investable universe by market capitalization, with eligible stocks weighted by domestic float-adjusted market capitalization. It can be used as a Canadian equity starting universe and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the S&P/TSX Composite Index.Index Code: MSCAUSDG
Coverage: Canada
Countries: 1
Securities: Approximately 250
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: All Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1998
The Morningstar Developed Markets ex-North America Index provides broad exposure to developed public equity markets outside North America. It represents the top 97% of the developed ex-North America investable universe by market capitalization, covering large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks. It can be used as an international developed-market starting universe and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the MSCI EAFE Index.Index Code: MSDIGUS
Coverage: Developed Markets (ex-North America)
Countries: 22
Securities: Approximately 2,500
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: All Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1998
The Morningstar Emerging Markets Index provides broad exposure to emerging public equity markets across large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks. It represents the top 97% of the emerging markets investable universe by market capitalization. It can be used as an emerging markets equity starting universe and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.Index Code: MEMMG
Coverage: Emerging Markets
Countries: 24
Securities: Approximately 3,800
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: All Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1998
The Morningstar Global Markets Index provides broad exposure to global public equity markets across both developed and emerging markets. It represents the top 97% of the global investable equity universe by market capitalization. It can be used as a global equity starting universe for diversified strategies requiring broad worldwide market exposure and serves as a benchmark-equivalent alternative to the MSCI ACWI Index.Index Code: MSGMUSDG
Coverage: Global Markets
Countries: 48
Securities: Approximately 7,700
Asset Class: Equity
Market Segment: All Caps
Reconstitution Frequency: Semi Annually
Rebalance Frequency: Quarterly
Inception Date: June 30, 1998
A point-in-time universe reflects the securities that were available at each historical date, helping reduce survivorship bias and making backtests more realistic.

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Quick Segmentation

After selecting the starting universe, users can apply index provider-based segmentation criteria to narrow the universe before applying more advanced eligibility rules. The quick segmentation fields include:
  • Geographic Scope
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    Defines the regional exposure of the universe. Available options include North America, Developed Markets excluding North America, or Emerging Markets.
  • Size Segment
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    Defines the market capitalization segment. Available options include Large Cap, Mid Cap, or Small Cap.
  • Cyclicality
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    Defines the economic sensitivity profile of the universe. Available options include Cyclical, Defensive, and Sensitive. These three categories correspond to the three super sectors under Morningstar’s Global Equity Classification Structure (GECS), which groups sectors according to their economic sensitivity profile. This allows users to quickly include or exclude broad economic segments before applying more detailed sector, industry, liquidity, or mandate filters.
    Cyclical
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Cyclical
    • Financial Services
    • Real Estate
    Defensive
    • Consumer Defensive
    • Healthcare
    • Utilities
    Sensitive
    • Communication Services
    • Energy
    • Industrials
    • Technology
All available segments are selected by default. Segments that are not supported by the selected starting universe appear disabled. Users can narrow the universe by unselecting the segments they want to exclude. The result is an initial filtered universe that becomes the input for the remaining eligibility rules, exclusion screens, liquidity filters, and mandate constraints.

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Eligibility & Exclusion Rules

Eligibility and exclusion rules define which securities are allowed to remain in the universe before the model applies ranking, scoring, and selection logic.
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These rules help remove securities that are not suitable for the strategy due to structure, liquidity, classification, regulatory constraints, or mandate restrictions.

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Security Type & Classification

This section controls which security types and classifications are eligible.
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The sector, industry group, and industry classifications used in BIASafe are based on Morningstar’s Global Equity Classification Structure (GECS) methodology.
GECS organizes companies into a hierarchical structure that helps users understand what a company does, how it generates revenue, and which part of the economy it belongs to.Beyond the three super sectors used in Quick Segmentation, the classification hierarchy used in this section follows three main levels: Sector, Industry Group, and Industry.
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Industry groups are aggregated into 11 sectors. Sectors represent the broadest classification level used in this section and organize companies into major areas of the economy.The 11 GECS sectors are:
  • Basic Materials
  • Communication Services
  • Consumer Cyclical
  • Consumer Defensive
  • Energy
  • Financial Services
  • Healthcare
  • Industrials
  • Real Estate
  • Technology
  • Utilities
In BIASafe, sector-level filtering allows users to include or exclude entire areas of the economy when defining the eligible universe.
Last modified on May 2, 2026