Morningstar Launches Portfolio Management Services; PFS Investments Inc. First to Deploy to 22,000 Representatives

CHICAGO, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has launched Morningstar® Portfolio Management Services, a new enterprise portfolio management and performance reporting service for broker-dealers. PFS Investments Inc., the investments branch of Primerica (NYSE: PRI), a leading financial services company providing an array of financial services to the middle-income market, is Morningstar's first client to deploy this new solution enterprise-wide to its 22,000 representatives.

Morningstar is providing PFS Investments' registered representatives with back-office and data aggregation services, as well as a custom-designed web application that allows for intuitive sorting and evaluation of client account and performance information. Morningstar Portfolio Management Services allows firms to completely outsource their data aggregation and reconciliation processes for consolidating client account data from a variety of custodians, clearing firms, and other investment product providers, such as insurance companies and asset management firms. Advisors can more quickly evaluate accounts, at both the individual client and firm level, and create in-depth, client-friendly reports that combine account performance data with Morningstar analytics—including the Morningstar Style Box™ and the Morningstar® Portfolio Snapshot™.  Home office and supervisory personnel also can organize and analyze account data and activity by different representative groups, coverage areas, or geographies.

"We've built our internal expertise in portfolio accounting and performance reporting in the independent advisory segment over the past four years. We've also upgraded and scaled our technology infrastructure to handle high-volume processing during this time," said Chris Boruff, president of Morningstar's software division. "We're excited to extend our capability into the enterprise space with PFS Investments and its network of representatives, along with several other broker-dealer clients who are also implementing the new service."

Morningstar individually consults with each firm to understand its data and business. It then develops a plan to aggregate, warehouse, and distribute data to and from multiple sources across an organization. The aggregated data flows into the Portfolio Management Services application, but is also available for other internal applications or analyses. Implementation is modular, giving investment firms maximum flexibility to adjust their services as needed.

"Morningstar has unique tools and capabilities to help process and aggregate our clients' account data in a meaningful and clear way," said Bill Kelly, president of PFS Investments. "Our representatives are leveraging Morningstar's analytics and design expertise through Portfolio Management Services, helping them to provide accurate data, insightful analysis, and comprehensive reports for our investor clients. At the home office level, we're also gaining better insight into our reps' activity and production. We have a solid history with Morningstar in co-developing new capabilities, and our registered reps are pleased to benefit from this innovation."

For more information, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/portfoliomanagementservices.

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.

About Primerica, Inc. and PFS Investments

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI), headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is the largest independent financial services marketing company in North America, with approximately 100,000 licensed sales representatives. Primerica representatives assist their clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, underwritten by the company's subsidiaries, and mutual funds, variable annuities and other financial products that are provided through third parties. The Primerica distribution model uniquely positions the company to reach the underserved middle-income market in a cost-effective manner. The company's subsidiaries today insure more than 4.3 million lives and more than 2 million clients maintain investment accounts with PFS Investments Inc.

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.