CHICAGO, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar,
Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, today announced it has revised its classification
structure for global equities based on the market a company serves
rather than the type of business it conducts. In general, the new
classification structure will have fewer Industries and Industry
Groups and redefined Sectors and Super Sectors.
Under the new global equity classification structure,
Morningstar first maps companies into one of 148 Industries, based
on their largest sources of revenue and income. The Industries roll
up into 69 Industry Groups based on their market characteristics.
Industry Groups fold into one of 11 Sectors, including Basic
Materials, Communication Services, Consumer Cyclical, Consumer
Defensive, Energy, Financial Services, Health Care, Industrials,
Real Estate, Technology, and Utilities. The Sectors finally roll up
to one of three major economic spheres, or Super Sectors, which are
Cyclical, Defensive, and Sensitive. The Super Sectors indicate the
degree to which macro-economic cycles affect sector groups. Click
here for a diagram of the new classification
structure.
"The overarching structure of our original sector classification
system was created nearly 10 years ago, and since that time the
markets and our clients' needs have evolved," John Rekenthaler, vice president of research,
said. "We developed the new system in conjunction with
Morningstar's Equity Research team to better reflect the
sensitivity of a company's operations to economic cycles. This is a
more intuitive approach that can accommodate the global equity
markets and help investors make better-informed investing
decisions."
Morningstar will roll out the new classification structure in
phases. All products will adopt the new Industry categories on
Oct. 15, 2010. Morningstar's Equity
Research, Equity Data Feeds, and Equity Indexes groups will also
roll out the new Industry Group, Sector, and Super Sector
categories in October. All other product groups will follow with
the adoption of the Industry Group, Sector, and Super Sector
categories toward the end of the first quarter of 2011.
The new Morningstar Category™ Global Equity Classification
Structure methodology is available at
http://corporate.morningstar.com/EquityClassifications.
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.
©2010 Morningstar Inc. All rights reserved.
Media Contact:
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Alexa Auerbach
312-696-6481 alexa.auerbach@morningstar.com
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MORN-R
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.
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