Morningstar Announces Speakers, Agenda for 27th Annual Investment Conference, June 24-26

CHICAGO, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, is hosting its 27^th annual investment conference for financial advisors Wednesday, June 24 through Friday, June 26, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

This year's keynote speakers are Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist, GMO LLC, who will open the conference on June 24; David Kelly, Ph.D., CFA, chief global strategist, J.P. Morgan Funds, will address attendees during the June 25 opening general session; Sallie Krawcheck, chair, Ellevate Network, the luncheon keynote speaker on June 25; and Douglas Hodge, chief executive officer and managing director, and Daniel Ivascyn, group chief investment officer and managing director, PIMCO, who will deliver the closing keynote presentation on June 26.

"Each year, we bring prominent voices from the investment industry together for three days of dialogue about the topics most relevant to advisors and their clients," Jon Hale, CFA, Ph.D., director of North American manager research for Morningstar, said. "Our conversations this year will explore the active-passive debate, robo-advisors, the search for yield among fixed-income investments, the fast-growing liquid alternatives sphere, and more. Plus, we have an exciting lineup of preconference sessions focused on women and investing, technology and the advisor, and an in-depth look at the work of our global manager research team."

General Sessions:

• Panelists Joe Davis, Ph.D., Vanguard; Rob Lovelace, CFA, American Funds; and Diana Strandberg, CFA, Dodge & Cox (and part of the winning team of Morningstar's 2014 U.S. International-Stock Fund Manager of the Year award), will share their research and insights about what it takes to be a successful active manager.
• Bill Nygren, CFA, Oakmark Funds, and Steven Romick, CFA, FPA Funds, will debate the future of active management and offer their views on the market, portfolio positions, and some notable recent investments.
• Bridget Hughes, CFA, Morningstar; Jeffrey S. Mitchell, Fidelity Investments; and Susan Ferris Wyderko, Mutual Fund Directors Forum, will identify how to distinguish between asset managers who are strong and poor stewards of shareholder capital and why good governance may improve investment outcomes.  

June 24 Research Roundtable
Morningstar experts will discuss the latest research from across the company in a roundtable on June 24, moderated by John Rekenthaler, Morningstar's vice president of research.

June 25 Breakout Sessions

• Pradipta Chakrabortty, Harding Loevner; Laura Geritz, CFA, Wasatch Funds; and Taizo Ishida, Matthews Asia, will discuss investment opportunities and how they manage risk in frontier markets.  
• Todd Ahlsten, Parnassus Investments, and Bruno Paulson, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, will discuss investing with a focus on companies with economic moats, or sustainable competitive advantages.
• David Blanchett, CFA, CFP, Morningstar; Michael Finke, Ph.D., Texas Tech University; and Steve Wendel, Ph.D., HelloWallet, a Morningstar company, will explore the role of behavioral forces in retirement planning.
• David Lyon, Oranj; Kyle Ryan, Personal Capital; and Tricia Rothschild, CFA, Morningstar, will discuss the latest trends in automated advice solutions, or "robo-advisors", and key considerations for advisors to scale their practices without losing sight of clients' best interests.
• Morningstar's Hale will lead a session designed for exhibitor attendees from asset managers that will cover Morningstar's process for categorizing and rating funds, the organization of Morningstar's manager research team, and how the team develops its coverage list.
• Laird Landmann, TCW Group; Gibson Smith, Janus Capital Group; and Elaine Stokes, Loomis, Sayles & Company, will provide their outlooks for the bond market and where they see opportunities.
• Bob Boyda, Manulife Financial/John Hancock; Ronen Israel, AQR; and David Kupperman, Ph.D., Neuberger Berman, will share their approaches to multistrategy alternative funds and what role they should play in investors' portfolios.
• Michael Arone, CFA, State Street Global Advisors; Matthew Raynor, BlackRock; and Doug Yones, Vanguard, will engage in a wide-ranging discussion of the evolving exchange-traded fund industry.
• Hilary Irby, Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Joe Keefe, Pax World; and Mary Jane McQuillen, ClearBridge, will discuss the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing landscape and the growing demand for these investments.

June 26 Breakout Sessions

• Chad Meade, Meridian Funds; Andrew Adams, CFA, Mairs & Power; and Finny Kuruvilla, Ph.D., Eventide Asset Management, will discuss the small- and mid-cap funds they manage that are just beginning to hit advisors' radar.
• Michael Fredericks, BlackRock; Anne Lester, J.P. Morgan Asset Management (and part of the winning team of Morningstar's 2014 U.S. Allocation Fund Manager of the Year award); and Ed Perks, CFA, Franklin Equity Group, will discuss income opportunities across asset classes in a yield-starved investment landscape.
• Morningstar's Karin Anderson, Greg Carlson, Sumit Desai, CFA, and Kevin McDevitt, CFA, will share recent Morningstar Analyst Rating™ upgrades and how advisors can use Analyst Ratings to evaluate funds and generate ideas for their clients.
• Nontraditional bond fund managers Rick Rieder, BlackRock; Marc Seidner, PIMCO; and Michael Swell, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, will highlight their approaches to navigating the fixed-income landscape.

Preconference Sessions
Morningstar also offers free preconference sessions for registered attendees from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central Time on June 24 at McCormick Place. There are three tracks comprising three different sessions each. Participants may attend one track in its entirety or different sessions within multiple tracks:

• "Women and Investing" will tackle how women invest differently than men, whether advisors are adequately serving female investors, and how advisors can prepare for the transfer of wealth from men to women over the coming decades.
• "Technology and the Advisor: Reaching Tomorrow's Clients" will explore how technology enables advisors to offer holistic advice, reach the next generation of investors, and adapt to the evolving technology landscape to meet clients' changing expectations.
• "Getting More from Morningstar's Manager Research" will help attendees understand the difference between the Morningstar Rating™ for funds (commonly known as the "star rating") and the Morningstar Analyst Rating, their efficacy, and how to interpret them for clients.

Registration Information
The Morningstar Investment Conference costs $795 per person, which includes the preconference sessions, two breakfasts, two lunches, and two receptions. Advisors can register online at http://global.morningstar.com/MICUS or by calling +1 866-839-9729.

More information about the Morningstar Investment Conference, including the full agenda, hotel accommodations, and continuing-education credits, is available at http://global.morningstar.com/MICUS. Conference updates are also available on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MstarAdvisor or through the conference hashtag, #MICUS.

News Media Registration Information
Full-time members of the news media may receive complimentary registration to the Morningstar Investment Conference. To register, visit http://global.morningstar.com/mediaregistration or contact Carling Spelhaug, Morningstar media relations, at +1 312-696-6150 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 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 15 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 advisory subsidiaries and had more than $179 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2015. The company has operations in 27 countries.

©2015 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Media Contacts:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312-696-6150 or [email protected]
Margaret Kirch Cohen, +1 312-696-6383 or [email protected]

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

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