Morningstar Launches Goal Bridge to Help Improve Investor Outcomes

CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today launched Goal Bridge, a planning and proposal solution that enables advisors to connect goals-based planning and investment strategies within a single, dynamic workflow.

Goal Bridge, available now as an add-on for Morningstar Advisor Workstation and soon as a standalone Enterprise Component, is powered by Morningstar research and grounded in behavioral science. Goal Bridge makes it easy for advisors and investors to put goals at the center of their portfolio and helps advisors demonstrate the value they bring as not only money managers, but also financial coaches who help clients retire, save for college, take family vacations and lead the lives they want to live. Additionally, more advisors can expand their goals-based financial planning services to more investors, because the simple, scalable workflow doesn't require the hours traditional financial planning methods do.  

"Advisors are continuously being pushed to compete and innovate to meet client demands," said Dermot O'Mahony, head of software products at Morningstar. "Goal Bridge promotes real advisor-client collaboration to identify meaningful goals and visually connect them to the personalized investment plans. As a result, investors can sit side-by-side with their advisors to set the right expectations and buy into their plans. When investment choices are clearly rooted in investors' intrinsic motivations, investors are more likely to stay on track to achieve their goals."

Goal Bridge helps address the fact that identifying an investor's true goals can be surprisingly difficult. In fact, recent behavioral science research from Morningstar showed that 73% of investors changed at least one of their previously identified top three goals after reviewing and prioritizing financial goals from a master list. With this in mind, the streamlined solution uses the master list approach and is designed to equip clients with the information and confidence needed to co-create investment plans that make their goals achievable.

For each client goal, Goal Bridge provides tools to help the advisor and investor determine a suitable asset allocation based on the details of that goal—namely, the goal time horizon and duration—along with a measurement of the investor's risk tolerance. By directly connecting investment risks, reward potential, and trade-offs to each goal, advisors can more effectively collaborate with clients, and implement plans that clients are more likely to stick with.

"The traditional advisor model is evolving. In order to serve the needs of today's clients and prospects, advisors need to be able to have a conversation with clients about their goals, and how the advisor can help them achieve their goals," said Joel Bruckenstein, a certified financial planner and president of Technology Tools for Today (T3). "Advisors need a tool that is quick, easy, and actionable. Platforms like Goal Bridge enable advisors to quickly and cost effectively provide strategic advice grounded in the principles of human behavior to clients and prospects."

For more information about Goal Bridge, please click here.

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, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with about $220 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2019. The company has operations in 27 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

©2019 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

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