Morningstar, Inc.

This article is about the investment company. For the food company, see Morningstar Farms.
Morningstar, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: MORN
Industry Investment Research, Investment Management
Founded 1984
Founder Joe Mansueto
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, United States
Key people
 Joe Mansueto, Chairman/CEO
Revenue Increase US$198.2 million (Q2 2016)[1]
Increase US$44.4 million (Q2 2016)[2]
Increase US$31.8 million (Q2 2016)[2]
Number of employees
 4,070 (June 30, 2016)[3]
Website www.global.morningstar.com www.morningstar.com

Morningstar, Inc. is an 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.[4] 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.[4][5] Morningstar was subsequently founded in 1984 from his one-bedroom Chicago apartment with an initial investment of US$80,000.[6] The name Morningstar is taken from the last sentence in Walden, a book by Henry David Thoreau; "the sun is but a morning star".[6][7]

In July 1999 Morningstar accepted an investment of US$91 million from SoftBank in return for a 20% stake in the company. The two companies had formed a joint venture in Japan the previous year.[7][8]

Morningstar's initial public offering occurred on May 3, 2005, with 7,612,500 shares at $18.50 each.[9] 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.[10]

Operations

Morningstar provides data on approximately 525,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on nearly 18 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 registered investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $180 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2016. The company has operations in 27 countries.[11]

Corporate identity

Morningstar's current logo is notable in that it was designed by Paul Rand. Mansueto sought Rand out in 1989 after deciding that the company's design standards needed to be improved, and that the first step would be a redesign of its logo.[12] After several phone calls, letters and finally a trip to meet Rand in person, Mansueto convinced him to work on the logo, which was completed within four months.[12] The new design features the "o" in Morningstar appearing as a rising sun, which is a nod to the quote that inspired the company's name.[6] While the fee for this work ($50,000) was a significant amount at the time for the company, Mansueto considers it "one of our most valuable assets".[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  2. 1 2
  3. ↑ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Everything I Know, I Learned from Warren Buffett, Corporate Culture Article – Inc. Article". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Joe Mansueto and Bill Nygren: The Importance of Having Conviction". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 Fetterman, Mindy (November 14, 2005). "USATODAY.com – Can he turn magazine bust into a boom?". USA Today. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  7. 1 2 "A star is reborn after shake-up". USA Today. February 12, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Company News; Softbank says it will invest $91 million in Morningstar". The New York Times. July 9, 1999. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ "MORN Insider Activity". Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Morningstar Press Release". Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "Corporate Design Foundation – @issue journal". Retrieved May 21, 2007.
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