Morningstar Canada Names Paul D. Kaplan Director of Research

TORONTO, June 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced that Paul D. Kaplan , Ph.D., CFA,  has been named director of research for Morningstar Canada , reporting to Scott Mackenzie , president and CEO of Morningstar Canada . Kaplan most recently served as director of quantitative research for Morningstar Europe .

"Paul is a prominent thought leader in asset allocation and quantitative analysis and will be a valuable addition to the Canadian research team," Mackenzie said. "In his new role, he will continue to develop methodologies for Morningstar's fund analysis and indexes as well as assist in the creation of tools for advisors and retail investors globally. He will also focus on Canadian-specific research."

Before joining Morningstar in 1999 as director of quantitative research, Kaplan was vice-president and chief economist for Ibbotson Associates, a leading expert on asset-allocation, which Morningstar acquired in 2006. Kaplan also served on the faculty of Northwestern University during the 1980s where he taught international finance and statistics. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science from New York University a master's degree and doctorate in economics from Northwestern University, and the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) designation.

Over the past 13 years, Kaplan has held a number of research roles at Morningstar. He led development of the current version of the Morningstar Rating^TM for funds (the "star rating") and the calculations behind the current version of the Morningstar Style Box^TM as well as other fund analysis tools. He also developed the methodology behind the firm's online retirement-planning service, and conducted research on asset allocation, portfolio construction, and stock and mutual-fund analysis. Kaplan has published numerous articles on investment style analysis, performance and risk measurement, asset allocation, retirement income planning, portfolio construction, index methodologies, and alternative investments, many of which appear in his recent book, Frontiers of Modern Asset Allocation (John Wiley & Sons, 2012). He has received the prestigious Graham and Dodd Award and the Graham and Dodd Scroll for some of his published work.

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 products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 380,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment management subsidiaries and has more than $190 billion in assets under advisement or management as of March 31, 2012. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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SOURCE Morningstar Research Inc.