Morningstar Announces Speakers and Agenda for 2014 ETF Conference, Sept. 17-19 in Chicago

CHICAGO, July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the speakers and agenda for its fifth annual ETF Conference Sept. 17-19 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. The conference features experts from across the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry along with Morningstar's analysts to provide in-depth knowledge and perspective for advisors, asset managers, and fund providers.

"We're bringing together some of the sharpest minds in the industry for our fifth annual ETF conference this fall. We shape each year's agenda with investors in mind and focus on the tactics, strategies, and portfolio management tools to help financial professionals successfully incorporate ETFs into their portfolios and achieve better investing outcomes," Ben Johnson, Morningstar's director of manager research for global passive strategies, said. "The ETF industry continues to witness significant asset growth, and at the same time is increasingly more complex. Strategic beta, ETF managed portfolios, and active ETFs are growing in popularity, and our goal is to shine a light on these strategies to help investors understand and apply them effectively."

Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist for BlackRock and chief global strategist for iShares, will deliver the keynote opening address on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Eugene Fama, Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, will present the keynote luncheon address on Thursday, Sept. 18.

General session speakers include Dr. David Kelly, JP Morgan; Jerome Schneider, PIMCO; and Ronen Israel, AQR; who will speak on Thursday, Sept. 18, and Wesley Gray, Drexel University, who will speak on Friday, Sept. 19.

The ever-popular "Meet the Pundits" panel will close the conference on Friday, Sept. 19. Moderated by Brendan Conway, Barron's, Morningstar's Johnson; Matt Hougan, ETF.com; and Tom Lydon, ETF Trends, will provide a no-holds-barred discussion of the current and future state of the ETF industry.

The conference includes 15 breakout sessions focusing on three key areas: strategic, tactical, and managed portfolio solutions. Featuring speakers from Blackstone/GSO, Envestnet, Fidelity, Guggenheim, MSCI, Nuveen Investments, State Street Global Advisors, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Vanguard, and WisdomTree, among other firms, the sessions will cover a wealth of timely topics, including:

• Strategic beta;
• Best practices in ETF trading;
• ETF managed portfolio strategies;
• Opportunities and dangers in reaching for yield;
• Re-thinking exposure to emerging markets;
• Equity income strategies among ETFs;
• Accessing alternative strategies and asset classes through ETFs; and
• Managing interest-rate risk and the role of fixed income.

Registration Information
The Morningstar® ETF Conference costs $495 per person and includes a preconference workshop and two breakfasts, luncheons, and receptions. Two preconference workshops will be held from 1- 4 p.m. on Sept. 17. Attendees will be able to choose one of two workshop tracks. The first workshop, "An Overview of the Trends Shaping the ETF Market," will provide advisors with Morningstar's take on trends shaping the ETF industry today, including strategic beta, active ETFs, and ETF managed portfolios. The other workshop, "Factor Investing with ETFs," will be an in-depth lesson about how to put factor strategies to work in a portfolio. Participants are eligible for continuing education credits. To register for the conference, call toll free at +1 866 839-9729.

More information about the 2014 Morningstar ETF Conference, including the full agenda, hotel accommodations, and complete registration information, is available at http://www.global.morningstar.com/etfus. Live updates from the conference can be followed on Twitter with the official conference hashtag #MstarETFUS.

Press Registration Information
Full-time members of the news media may receive complimentary registration to the Morningstar ETF Conference. If you are a journalist and want to attend the conference, please email Carling Spelhaug at [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 473,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 12 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 approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2014. The company has operations in 27 countries.

©2014 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312 696-6150 or [email protected]

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.