CHICAGO, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, today announced that the CFA Institute
Financial Analysts Journal (FAJ) has selected "The
Importance of Asset Allocation" by Roger
Ibbotson for its Best Perspectives Award. Ibbotson's opinion
article is based on the companion research paper, "The Equal
Importance of Asset Allocation and Active Management," both of
which appeared in the March/April
2010 edition of the FAJ. Roger Ibbotson, Ph.D., CFA, is founder of
Ibbotson Associates, chairman and chief investment officer of Zebra
Capital Management, professor of finance at the Yale School of
Management, and advisor to Morningstar, Inc. He worked with members
of Morningstar's Investment Management division, including
James Xiong, CFA, senior research
consultant; Thomas Idzorek, CFA,
chief investment officer; and Peng
Chen, Ph.D., CFA, president, to author both papers. This is
the eighth award from the FAJ won by a Morningstar or
Ibbotson researcher.
The importance of asset allocation to returns has been the
subject of considerable debate and misunderstanding since the
seminal work of Brinson, Hood, and Beebower in 1986. Ibbotson's
opinion article, "The Importance of Asset Allocation," provides an
overview of the impact of long-term asset allocation policy
relative to active management on portfolio performance. The longer
research paper strives to pinpoint one of the primary sources of
confusion surrounding the importance of asset allocation and
provides a model to quantify the impact. Ibbotson, Xiong, Idzorek,
and Chen find that return variations in portfolios are driven
primarily by the overall market. But, after removing this common
market factor, on average about half of the return variations for
typical funds come from "detailed" asset-allocation decisions, like
the value-growth tilt in a portfolio, and the other half from
active management. The complete papers can be found at
www.cfapubs.org.
"For many years, Roger, James, Tom, and Peng have been at the
forefront of asset allocation research, producing innovative,
groundbreaking work that has real-world applications for advisors,
money managers, and individual investors," said Joe Mansueto, chairman and chief executive
officer of Morningstar. "We're thrilled that the FAJ
recognized this research and its contribution to the field with
this most prestigious honor."
Awarded by the FAJ's Advisory Council and Editorial
Board, the Best Perspectives Award is given in recognition of the
timeliest and most thought-provoking opinion article of excellence
in research and financial writing. The FAJ is published six
times a year by CFA Institute, the global association of more than
100,000 securities analysts, portfolio managers, strategists,
consultants, and other investment specialists. The Journal
advances the knowledge and understanding of the practice of
investment management through the publication of high-quality,
practitioner-relevant research.
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 380,000 investment offerings,
including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with
real-time global market data on more than 5 million equities,
indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in
addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also
offers investment management services and has approximately
$139 billion in assets under
advisement and management as of March 31,
2011. The company has operations in 26 countries.
©2011 Morningstar Inc. All rights reserved.
MORN-R
Media Contact:
Alexa Auerbach 312-696-6481,
alexa.auerbach@morningstar.com
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.