CHICAGO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced that Mesirow Financial, a diversified financial services firm, is now using Morningstar Office(SM) as the platform for offering portfolio accounting and performance reporting capabilities to the firm's introducing broker-dealers and investment advisors.

Morningstar Office, previously Morningstar Advisor Workstation Office Edition, is a complete global practice and portfolio management platform for independent financial advisors and wealth managers. Designed so that advisors can run an entire practice effectively on its single, all-inclusive system, Morningstar Office features the most current Morningstar research and data on more than 325,000 securities. The platform also includes sophisticated investment planning tools, complete portfolio accounting and performance reporting capabilities, practice and client management tools, e-mail and calendar functions, batch reporting, a client Web portal, and SEC document archiving. In addition, advisors can manage client data with Morningstar® Back Office Services(SM), an optional offering that allows them to focus on building their businesses, leaving the daily import and reconciliation chores to Morningstar. Both the solo practitioner and multi-advisor firms can use its practice management tools.

"Mesirow Financial is an independent clearing firm known for its personalized service and support, so we're pleased the Mesirow Financial team selected Morningstar Office to satisfy its performance reporting and investment planning needs," said Hailin Li, vice president of advisor office solutions for Morningstar. "The introducing broker/dealers and investment advisors that clear through Mesirow Financial will now have access to leading-edge portfolio accounting and performance reporting capabilities, integrated with Morningstar's robust databases, detailed analytics, and clear and concise analyst reports."

"We continually seek state-of-the-art technology as a way to provide best-of-breed solutions to the introducing broker/dealers and investment advisors that clear through our platform," said Ruth Hannenberg, senior managing director and head of Mesirow Financial's Broker/Dealer and Investment Advisor Services group. "That's why we're so excited to work with Morningstar, a firm that shares our dedication to excellence in both products and client service. With Morningstar Office, we can offer our clients a truly comprehensive practice management solution with seamless data integration."

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 325,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries.

About Mesirow Financial

Mesirow Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in Chicago. Founded in 1937, it is an independent, employee-owned firm with over $30 billion in assets under management and 1,200 employees in locations across the country and in London. With expertise in Investment Management, Investment Services, Insurance Services, Investment Banking, Consulting and Real Estate, Mesirow Financial strives to meet the financial needs of institutions, public sector entities, corporations and individuals. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, the firm posted $467 million in revenue, with $250 million in capital. For more information about Mesirow Financial, visit its Web site at mesirowfinancial.com.

©2009 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Media Contacts:
Shawn Malayter, 312.696.6050, shawn.malayter@morningstar.com
Laura Davies, 312.595.6831, ldavies@mesirowfinancial.com

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

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