CHICAGO, Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As many households
take stock of their financial picture at the start of a new year,
Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent
investment research, announced it will host a new Individual
Investor Conference on Saturday, Jan. 21,
2012. The conference will bring together personal finance
experts and Morningstar analysts to cover a broad range of topics
for investors looking to take better control of their portfolios
and meet their financial goals. Investors may attend the conference
in person at Morningstar's headquarters, 22 W. Washington St.,
Chicago, or view the event online
via a live webcast.
At the conference, panelists will tackle a variety of subjects,
including evaluating a portfolio for strengths and weaknesses,
keeping investments on track without a heavy time commitment,
implementing new diversification strategies, uncovering top fund
and stock picks for income and growth, setting up a sensible
withdrawal plan from a retirement portfolio, and maximizing Social
Security benefits after retirement.
"We've designed this conference based on the feedback of our
Morningstar.com subscribers," said Jason
Stipp, Morningstar.com site editor. "For this inaugural
event, we've gathered top thought leaders in personal finance and
investing to address today's critical portfolio topics in a
one-day, flexible format that investors can more easily work into
their busy professional and family schedules."
The conference will kick off at 9 a.m.
Central time with a keynote address from Joel Greenblatt, managing principal and
co-chief investment officer for Gotham Asset Management. A noted
value investor who developed the "Magic Formula Investing"
strategy, Greenblatt will put current market valuation levels into
historical perspective and discuss value-weighted investing
strategies.
Two breakout sessions will follow Greenblatt's address:
Mark Miller, nationally
syndicated retirement columnist and author of the book The Hard
Times Guide to Retirement Security; and Mary Beth Franklin, retirement and tax
planning specialist for InvestmentNews and former retirement
editor for Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine; will
detail practical strategies for retirees to get the most out of
their Social Security benefits, long-term care insurance,
Medicare/Medigap policies, and more. In a separate session,
Mark Balasa, principal,
co-president and CIO of Balasa Diverno Foltz, LLC, who has been
named seven times as one of the "Best Financial Advisors" in the
U.S. by Robb Report Worth Magazine; Leisa Brown Aiken, founder of Veo Financial
Counsel, LLC, a fee-only, hourly financial planning service; and
Laura Lutton, Morningstar's
editorial director of fund research and lead author of the
company's annual 529 College Savings Plan ratings study; will
discuss ways to maximize finances during peak earning years,
whether an investor is saving for a child's college education,
investing for retirement, or assisting family members with their
own financial affairs.
Christine Benz, director
of personal finance for Morningstar.com and author of the book
30-Minute Money Solutions, will host a general session at
11 a.m. to help investors tune up
their portfolios for 2012 by assessing their asset allocation
strategies, sector exposure, and other data using Morningstar
research and tools.
Following a lunch break, Benz will also speak during an
afternoon breakout session, discussing how investors can establish
a sustainable withdrawal plan from a retirement portfolio using a
"total return" approach to tap into the right mix of assets. In the
opposite breakout session, William
Harding, head of manager research for Morningstar's
investment management division; Nadia
Papagiannis, Morningstar's alternative investments
strategist and editor of Morningstar Alternative Investments
Observer; and Timothy
Strauts, Morningstar ETF analyst; will outline new
diversification strategies including the best ways to incorporate
alternative investments into a portfolio.
The conference will close with a free-wheeling panel discussion
featuring Morningstar's senior analysts. Scott Burns, director of ETF, closed-end,
and alternatives research; Russ
Kinnel, director of mutual fund research, editor of
Morningstar FundInvestor, and author of the book Fund
Spy: Morningstar's Inside Secrets to Selecting Mutual Funds That
Outperform; Paul Larson,
equities strategist and editor of Morningstar StockInvestor;
and Josh Peters, equity
income strategist and editor of Morningstar
DividendInvestor; will offer investment ideas and portfolio
building blocks for the current market environment. They'll also
discuss some of their favorite "unloved" investments that have
proved successful despite being in out-of-favor sectors and
industries.
Registration Information
Registration to the Morningstar Individual Investor
Conference is included with an active Morningstar.com Premium
membership (this includes all current Morningstar.com Premium
subscribers). A one-year subscription to Morningstar.com Premium
costs $185 through Dec. 18, and will be $189 after that date. For on-site attendees,
registration for the conference also includes lunch. More
information about the 2012 Morningstar Individual Investor
Conference, including the full agenda, hotel accommodations, and
complete registration information, is available at
http://www.morningstar.com/conference.
Press Registration Information
Full-time members of the news media may attend the
Morningstar Individual Investor Conference at no cost by contacting
Shawn Malayter at
shawn.malayter@morningstar.com. Please specify if you plan to
attend in person or via the web.
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
products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and
institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 330,000
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
through its investment management subsidiaries and has more than
$167 billion in assets under
advisement and management as of Sept. 30,
2011. The company has operations in 26 countries.
©2011 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORN-P
Media Contact:
Shawn Malayter, 312-696-6050,
shawn.malayter@morningstar.com
SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.