And then there were three. The field of hedge fund rating agencies is starting to get a little more crowded, as fund trackerMorningstarreportedly is mulling plans to joinMoody'sandAmber Partnerswith its own yet-concocted version of the ratings game. The possibility lay buried in aReutersreport that Morningstar is close to publishing homemade hedge fund research reports, making it the first independent research firm to do so. Though no publication date has been set,Ryan Tagal, Morningstar's director of hedge funds, toldReuters, "It will be this year." Stressing the independent nature of the HF reviews, Tagal said, "Our reports are not commissioned by managers. We write them on our dime." The reports are said to be based on interviews with HFs of all type to explain the strategies they use to make money. Since last summer, more than 1,000 hedge funds have been added to Morningstar's hedge fund tracking database.