Morningstar to Host Fifth Annual Stocks Forum for Investors Nov. 3-4 in Chicago

CHICAGO, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Investors will have an opportunity to hear expert perspectives, explore actionable ideas, and engage directly with Morningstar equity analysts and leaders of publicly traded companies at Morningstar, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: MORN) fifth annual Stocks Forum Nov. 3-4 at the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe St., Chicago.

Two keynote addresses headline the event on Nov. 3. Randall S. Kroszner, former governor of the Federal Reserve Board and current professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, will explore whether inflation or deflation looms larger on the economic horizon. Kroszner took a leading role at the Fed in developing responses to the 2008 financial crisis.

Michelle Leder, founder and editor of Footnoted.com, a Morningstar website, will close the first day's events with a presentation on how stock investors can benefit from news that's buried deep in a company's federal filings. Other first-day sessions include a macro-economic outlook from Bob Johnson, Morningstar's director of economic analysis; a stock strategist session with Paul Larson, Morningstar equities strategist and StockInvestor newsletter editor; a dividend stock investing session with Josh Peters, equities strategist and DividendInvestor editor; as well as breakout sessions on opportunistic investing, peak oil, and investing across asset classes.

On Nov. 4, Morningstar Director of Equity Research Patrick Dorsey will host a luncheon panel discussion with two past winners of Morningstar's CEO of the Year Award, Robert Silberman of Strayer Education (Ticker: STRA) and William Oberton of Fastenal (FAST). During the luncheon, Morningstar will announce the finalists for the 2010 CEO of the Year award.

In addition, representatives from more than 30 companies will each make presentations on their firm's long-term shareholder value creation and moat-building strategies in the current economic environment, including CEOs from ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Americas (MT), Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH), BMC Software (BMC), Myriad Genetics (MYGN), Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (CFR), and Graco Inc. (GGG). Representatives from AT&T (T), FedEx (FDX), General Electric (GE), McDonald's Corp. (MCD), Nalco Holding Company (NLC), Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Stericycle (SRCL) and United Parcel Service (UPS) are also scheduled to present, among others.

Registration to the Morningstar Stocks Forum is $349. Members of the news media may receive complimentary registration to the Morningstar Stocks Forum by contacting Shawn Malayter at 312-696-6050 or [email protected]. For the complete agenda, hotel information, and full list of companies presenting at the event, please visit: http://global.morningstar.com/2010StocksForum.

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 approximately 360,000 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 21 countries.

©2010 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.