Morningstar, Inc.
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (November 2016) |
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: MORN Russell 1000 Component | |
| Industry | Investment research, Investment management |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Joe Mansueto |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Joe Mansueto, Chairman Kunal Kapoor, CEO |
| Revenue |  US$911.7 million (2017)[1] |
 US$180.8 million (2016)[1] | |
| US$161 million (2016)[1] | |
| AUM | $220 billion (2017) |
Number of employees | 4,595 (2016)[2] |
| Website | www |
Morningstar, Inc. is a global investment research and investment management firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
History
Founder Joe Mansueto initially had the idea for Morningstar in 1982 while reviewing mutual fund annual reports he had requested from several prominent fund managers.[3] However, it was only after a year working as a stock analyst for Harris Associates, seeing the fund industry and potential competitors up close, that he was convinced that the opportunity was there.[3][4] Morningstar was subsequently founded in 1984 from his one-bedroom Chicago apartment with an initial investment of US$80,000.[5] The name Morningstar is taken from the last sentence in Walden, a book by Henry David Thoreau; "the sun is but a morning star".[5][6]
In July 1999, Morningstar accepted an investment of US$91 million from SoftBank in return for a 20 percent stake in the company. The two companies had formed a joint venture in Japan the previous year.[6][7]
Morningstar's initial public offering occurred on May 3, 2005, with 7,612,500 shares at $18.50 each.[8] The manner in which Morningstar went public is notable. They elected to follow Google's footsteps and use the OpenIPO method rather than the traditional method. This allowed individual investors to bid on the price of the stock, and allowed all investors equal access.
As of February 2015, Joe Mansueto owned approximately 55% of the outstanding shares in Morningstar.[9]
In September 2016, Morningstar announced that it had appointed Kunal Kapoor as chief executive officer, effective January 2017, with Mansueto becoming executive chairman at the same time. [10][11]
Morningstar's current logo was designed by Paul Rand.[12] The design features the "o" in Morningstar appearing as a rising sun, which is a nod to a Henry David Thoreau quote that inspired the company's name.[5] Mansueto considers the logo "one of our most valuable assets".[12]
See also
- A. M. Best
- American Association of Individual Investors
- Bloomberg L.P.
- Dominion Bond Rating Service
- Fitch Ratings
- Kroll Bond Rating Agency
- Moody's Analytics
- Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations
- Reuters
- Standard & Poor's
- Value Line
References
- ^ a b c "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ a b "Everything I Know, I Learned from Warren Buffett, Corporate Culture Article – Inc. Article". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ "Joe Mansueto and Bill Nygren: The Importance of Having Conviction". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c Fetterman, Mindy (November 14, 2005). "USATODAY.com – Can he turn magazine bust into a boom?". USA Today. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ a b "A star is reborn after shake-up". USA Today. February 12, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
- ^ "Company News; Softbank says it will invest $91 million in Morningstar". The New York Times. July 9, 1999. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ "MORN Insider Activity". Retrieved February 27, 2015.
- ^ "Morningstar U.S. | News Archive". Retrieved 2017-02-02.
- ^ Yerak, Becky. "Kapoor to replace billionaire founder Mansueto as Morningstar CEO".
- ^ a b "Corporate Design Foundation – @issue journal". Retrieved May 21, 2007.