Morningstar Ibbotson Conference to be Held March 3-4 in Orlando

CHICAGO, Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced that the Morningstar Ibbotson Conference will be held March 3-4 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes resort in Orlando, Fla. The conference, which is Morningstar's premier event for institutions, will feature prominent speakers from academic institutions and the financial services industry discussing new research and techniques in asset allocation, investment research, and portfolio construction.

This year's speakers include:

Karl Case, professor of Economics Emeritus from Wellesley College, who will address the future of the housing market and its impact on the economy;
John Rogers, chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, who will discuss the future demand for and performance of alternative versus traditional long-only investments;
Rodney Sullivan, head of publications for the CFA Institute and editor-in-chief of the Financial Analysts Journal, who will address the commonalities among capital market bubbles over time and offer suggestions for improving risk management;
Roger Ibbotson, founder of Ibbotson Associates, professor of finance at Yale School of Management, and partner at Zebra Capital Management, who will discuss the impact of underlying stock liquidity on mutual fund performance.

Additional academic and industry experts as well as thought leaders from across Morningstar and Ibbotson will present breakout sessions covering topics such as incorporating absolute return strategies into portfolios, new techniques for mutual fund selection, assessing corporate credit risk, new portfolio optimization techniques, combating rising global market correlations, and Ibbotson's economic outlook, to name a few.

"The market has rebounded more than 75 percent since bottoming out in 2009. Individual investors, advisors, and institutions are re-examining the traditional investing mantras about diversification, modern portfolio theory, and long-term investing that didn't provide the expected protection during the downturn," said Peng Chen, president of Morningstar Investment Management. "We're excited to bring together thought leaders from academia and the investment management industry to explore the value of these traditional investing fundamentals, lessons from the crash, and innovative investment ideas and techniques for this new global market."

In addition, Morningstar will host an institutional software client symposium for Morningstar Direct(SM) and Morningstar® EnCorr® users on March 2. Clients will receive hands-on training from product experts, trade tips with peers, and explore Morningstar methodologies.

For more information or to register for the conference, please visit http://global.morningstar.com/morningstaribbotsonconference or call 877-525-3257. Attendance is $1,150 per person, and early registration is available for $995 until Feb. 4, 2011. Attendees can earn continuing education credits from the CFP® Board (CFP license) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

Full-time members of the news media may attend the conference at no cost, but must register in advance by contacting Alexa Auerbach at 312-696-6481.

About Ibbotson Associates, Inc. and Morningstar, Inc.

Ibbotson Associates, Inc. is a leading independent provider of asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio construction services. The company leverages its innovative and ground-breaking academic research to create customized investment advisory solutions that help investors meet their goals. Founded by Professor Roger Ibbotson in 1977, Ibbotson Associates is a registered investment advisor and a wholly owned subsidiary of 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 370,000 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 26 countries.

MORN-C