CHICAGO, June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced that Dole Food Company will be offering online access to extensive research, education, and retirement advice services through Morningstar Retirement Manager(SM), an investment advisory service from Morningstar Associates, LLC. Dole plans to offer Morningstar Retirement Manager free of charge to employees participating in its 401(k). Participants will have access to the service through Hewitt Associates, their plan's recordkeeper. "The recent market downturn has taken a heavy toll on participants' retirement accounts. Now more than ever, investors need a long-range plan, suited to their risk tolerance, in order to get back on track," said Patrick Reinkemeyer, president of Morningstar Associates. "We're focused on helping people create a retirement strategy that establishes long-term savings, contributions, and income goals to move investors closer to a successful retirement." With Morningstar Retirement Manager, participants receive a personalized retirement strategy, including a retirement income goal assessment, recommended savings rate, and construction of an appropriate portfolio strategy based on their goals and personal situation. Participants will also have access to a wide range of tools, research, and educational support. "Dole has a long history of caring about the physical and financial wellbeing of its employees. The new Morningstar Retirement Manager service is a great tool to assist our employees with their retirement planning," said Charlene Mims, vice president of benefits, About Morningstar Associates, LLC and Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar Associates, LLC, is a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. As of Dec. 31, 2008, Morningstar Associates' retirement services were available to more than 8 million people through approximately 72,000 retirement plan sponsors and 17 plan providers. Morningstar Retirement Manager is offered by and is the property of Morningstar Associates, and is intended for use by citizens and legal residents of the United States or its territories. 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 more than 300,000 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 19 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in three other countries. About Dole Food Company, Inc. Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2008 revenues of $7.6 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole also markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research. (C)2009 Morningstar Inc. All rights reserved. Media Contact: Alexa Auerbach 312-696-6481, DATASOURCE: Morningstar, Inc. CONTACT: Alexa Auerbach of Morningstar, Inc., +1-312-696-6481, Web Site: http://www.morningstar.com/

Copyright