Morningstar Announces Agenda for Annual Institutional Conference, Feb. 20-21

CHICAGO, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the agenda for the Morningstar Ibbotson Conference taking place Feb. 20-21 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Ariz. The conference, Morningstar's premier event for institutional investors, will feature thought leaders from academic institutions, the financial services industry, and Morningstar. They will discuss the changing investment landscape and some of the latest advancements in investing and financial planning with a focus on delivering better financial outcomes.

David Laibson, Ph.D., Robert I. Goldman Professor of economics at Harvard University and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, will discuss different kinds of risk, and how investors can improve their asset allocation by increasing investments in good risks while decreasing investments in bad risks.

Additional general session speakers include:

• Nardin Baker, chief investment strategist for Guggenheim Partners, who will share his latest research about the benefits of low volatility investing in markets around the globe, and how investors can take advantage of these opportunities;
• Roger Ibbotson, Ph.D., founder of Ibbotson Associates (which Morningstar acquired in 2006), professor of finance at Yale School of Management, and partner at Zebra Capital Management, who will examine how to use stocks with less popular characteristics—small cap, value, illiquidity—to get more return while taking on less risk;
• Harvey Rosenblum, Ph.D., executive vice president and director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, who will provide his outlook for the U.S. economy;
• Sam L. Savage, Ph.D., executive director of ProbabilityManagment.org and consulting professor at Stanford University, who will discuss the flaw of using averages when modeling uncertain situations and new techniques for making more accurate predictions;
• James Upton, senior portfolio specialist and chief strategic officer for Morgan Stanley, who will explore the outlook for emerging markets and growth prospects for various countries.

A series of breakout sessions, a number of which will feature new research, will include the following topics:

• Time Diversification—Evaluating whether equities really become less risky over longer investment periods and the implications for investors;
• Quantitative Equity Ratings—Overview of Morningstar's forward-looking quantitative ratings for equities;
• Controlled Volatility Strategies—Approaches for managing volatility without using guaranteed products and the pros and cons for those with no liability to hedge;
• Momentum, Acceleration, and Crash—New research about the contribution of accelerated stock prices to crashes;
• Time-Varying Return Estimates—Estimating capital market assumptions when expected returns are not constant;
• Economic Policy Reform in China—Analysis of the risks and opportunities from new economic reform in China;
• Global Economic Outlook—Morningstar's outlook for the global economy;
• Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance—Do some mutual funds show consistent performance and how can investors improve their odds of successful fund selection?
• Do Fund Flows Signal Future Performance—Do fund asset flows serve as a contrarian indicator for intermediate-term performance?
• Jazz, Firefighters, and Hedge Funds—How to improvise in dynamic, uncertain environments;
• Industry-Specific Human Capital, Outside Wealth, and Optimal Portfolio Choice—How do an investor's occupation, geographic location, and pension benefits affect his optimal portfolio allocation?

"The U.S. stock market has been on a tear over the last five years, but the trend may not be sustainable in the long run. Developed markets are looking at rising debt and rapidly aging populations, while emerging markets could hold promises and pitfalls," Thomas Idzorek, president of Morningstar Investment Management, a unit of Morningstar, said. "For two days, we'll bring together some of the leading minds in the financial service sector to share new ideas and techniques for managing risk and pinpointing bright spots in the capital markets."

For more information or to register for the conference, please visit http://corporate1.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Ibbotson-Conference or call 877-525-3257. Attendance is $1,150 per person. Attendees may earn continuing education credits from the CFP^® Board (CFP license) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

Full-time members of the news media may attend the conference at no cost, but must register in advance by contacting Alexa Auerbach at 312-696-6481 or [email protected].

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 individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 437,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 10 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 registered investment advisor subsidiaries. The company has operations in 27 countries.

About Ibbotson Associates
Ibbotson Associates is a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. It is part of the Morningstar Investment Management unit, which creates custom investment solutions that combine award-winning research and global resources with proprietary Morningstar data. With approximately $176 billion* in assets under advisement and management, the Morningstar Investment Management division provides comprehensive retirement, investment advisory, and portfolio management services for financial institutions, plan sponsors, and advisors around the world.

*Data as of Sept. 30, 2013. Includes Morningstar Associates, Ibbotson Associates, Morningstar Investment Services, OBSR Advisory Services, and Ibbotson Australia.

©2014 Morningstar, Inc.  All rights reserved.

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Media Contact:
Alexa Auerbach, 312-696-6481 or [email protected]

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.