Morningstar Brings the Evolving Investor to Future Proof

Press Releases

Sep 11, 2023

Morningstar launches new advisor-centered research, business intelligence solution for home offices, and the next step for its AI chatbot Mo

CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment insights, joins Future Proof, the world’s largest wealth festival, Sept. 10-13, 2023 in Huntington Beach, Calif. with new market research and product developments that center around the Evolving Investor. The Morningstar Booth is #300, located at the south-central section of the boardwalk.

“Investor needs are changing, as they navigate opportunities brought upon by fast-moving technological developments, increases in investment choice, wealth transfer between generations, and the need for sound advice,” said Kunal Kapoor, chief executive officer at Morningstar. “We look forward to connecting with advisors and financial professionals alike this week at Future Proof to share our independent research and insights to empower investor success.”

Following the launch of The Voice of the Investor research at the Morningstar Investment Conference in April, Morningstar today published The Voice of the Advisor, which takes the pulse on the behavior of more than 600 financial advisors and wealth managers across the United States to reveal trends in their product and service offerings, how they allocate their times, and where they are looking for help.

The report found that advisors are focusing on the needs of their clients more than ever before, as shown by these key findings:

Advisors are responding to client needs and an uncertain market environment by offering more products – in the form of alternative assets. Advisors who are offering a wide variety of products to their clients say alternatives (cryptocurrency, structured products, liquid alternatives, REITs, private debt, and private equity) make up between 14% and 19% of their total AUM.
Advisors seemingly have a good basis for investors’ increased desire for personalization – spending an average of 20 hours per week on client-focused activities. This focus on the advisor-client relationship includes helping to identify and achieve specific life goals as well as customizing an investment strategy to risk tolerance, tax optimization, and time horizon.
Advisors are adapting to evolving market demand for additional services. 27% of advisors intend to expand their offerings in the next 12 months, with “sustainability advice” and “education planning” leading the way as the top new services advisors say they will explore.

Morningstar Launches Enterprise Analytics, Offering Compliance and Business Insights to Advisor Firms

Morningstar® Advisor Workstation^SM today debuted Enterprise Analytics, a suite of dashboards that surfaces business intelligence based on firmwide activities in Advisor Workstation. The three dashboards– Compliance, Insights, and Performance – help identify valuable data intel such as the percentage of proposals that may pose a regulatory risk, month-over-month trends in proposal volume, or the breakdown of most frequently proposed asset classes. Enterprise Analytics also enables firms to compare their activity to industry benchmarks.

“The Voice of the Advisor survey shows that advisors are spending more time creating personalized proposals that recommend a wider range of asset classes. As advisors work to meet evolving investor needs, home offices at advisor firms are eager to understand the impact to their business,” said Vimal Vel, head of enterprise software at Morningstar. “For our clients, Enterprise Analytics tells the story of how a firm’s advisors are adapting their investment recommendations using a powerful set of dashboards and aggregated business metrics.”

The Compliance Dashboard, which will be available at the end of the month, flags proposals that are likely to pose a regulatory risk from a variety of regulations, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission Marketing Rule, the Department of Labor Rollover Rule, or the Canadian Client-Focused Reforms regulation. Compliance teams can customize parameters to ensure that the dashboard aligns to the nuances of their compliance programs.
The Insights Dashboard will provide a holistic view of a firm’s investment recommendations, including the types of investments commonly researched and proposed, proposal generation numbers, and their geo-footprint. These insights show how a firm’s client relationships and investment recommendations are evolving.
The Performance Dashboard will offer benchmarking metrics that show firms how their advisors perform against the industry or their peer groups, helping to identify strengths and areas for opportunity.

Morningstar is offering Enterprise Analytics demonstrations at the Morningstar Booth #300 this week at Future Proof. Stop by to learn more and click here to learn about Morningstar Advisor Workstation.

Morningstar’s AI Chatbot Graduates to API

In continuing its efforts to bring artificial intelligence to the investing ecosystem, Morningstar is now making the platform that powers Mo, its AI chatbot that debuted in May, available through a new service. The Intelligence Engine API provides financial services firms with a means to build their own generative AI solutions, tailored to their distinct needs.

“Mo has answered tens of thousands of investment research questions in a few short months, demonstrating the impact generative AI can have on this space,” said Lee Davidson, chief analytics officer at Morningstar. “Resources are tight, and firms are looking for ways to streamline processes with AI. The Intelligence Engine API enables teams to redefine workflows, shifting analyst focus away from recurring tasks and toward higher value activities.”

The Intelligence Engine API draws from Morningstar’s breadth of independent data, research, and editorial content to produce relevant insights, and allows firms to integrate their own proprietary research so that responses generated from the service reflect their brand, perspective, and product offerings. The platform also incorporates responsibility in its design to help manage AI-related risks. With the Intelligence Engine API, firms can more quickly leverage this burgeoning technology to create engaging digital experiences for their advisors and their end clients.

Learn more about the Intelligence Engine here. The avatar version of Mo will also be on display all week at Future Proof at Morningstar Booth #300.

Morningstar Booth at Future Proof

Learn more about Morningstar’s presence at Future Proof and Evolving Investor activations at Booth #300 at the south-central part of the Huntington Beach boardwalk. The booth features Morningstar product demos, raffles for exciting giveaways, and receptions on Sunday and Monday. Reach out to newsroom@morningstar.com for additional information.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The Company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers and owners, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the debt and private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, debt securities, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with approximately $264 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2023. The Company operates through wholly- or majority-owned subsidiaries in 32 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

Caution Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on our current expectations about future events or future financial performance. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, and often contain words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “prospects,” or “continue.” These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the events we discuss not to occur or to differ significantly from what we expect. For us, these risks and uncertainties include, among others, failing to maintain and protect our brand, independence, and reputation; liability related to cybersecurity and the protection of confidential information, including personal information about individuals; compliance failures, regulatory action, or changes in laws applicable to our credit ratings operations, investment advisory, ESG and index businesses; failing to innovate our product and service offerings, or anticipate our clients’ changing needs; prolonged volatility or downturns affecting the financial sector, global financial markets, and the global economy and its effect on our revenue from asset-based fees and our credit ratings business; failing to recruit, develop, and retain qualified employees; liability for any losses that result from errors in our automated advisory tools; inadequacy of our operational risk management and business continuity programs in the event of a material disruptive event; failing to realize the expected business or financial benefits of our acquisitions and investments; failing to scale our operations and increase productivity and its effect on our ability to implement our business plan; artificial intelligence and related new technologies that may present business, compliance, and reputational risks; failing to maintain growth across our businesses in today’s fragmented geopolitical, regulatory and cultural world; liability relating to the information and data we collect, store, use, create, and distribute or the reports that we publish or are produced by our software products; the potential adverse effect of our indebtedness on our cash flows and financial flexibility; challenges in accounting for complexities in taxes in the global jurisdictions in which we operate that could materially affect our tax rate; and failing to protect our intellectual property rights or claims of intellectual property infringement against us. A more complete description of these risks and uncertainties can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. If any of these risks and uncertainties materialize, our actual future results and other future events may vary significantly from what we expect. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

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Media Contact:

Michael Claussen, +1 630 640-1902 or michael.claussen@morningstar.com