Morningstar Ibbotson Conference to be Held March 4-5 in Orlando
January 19 2010 - 10:56AM
PR Newswire (US)
CHICAGO, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment
research, today announced that the Morningstar Ibbotson Conference
will be held March 4-5 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, Charles Wheelan, author of
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, will give the
keynote address. Wheelan, a noted author, professor, and columnist,
will discuss the economic challenges the Obama administration faces
and how government action will likely impact the economy and the
financial services industry. General session speakers at this
year's conference include: -- Cliff Asness, managing and founding
principal of AQR Capital Management, who will address the role of
hedge funds in asset allocation after the credit crisis; -- Paul
Ballew, senior vice president customer insights and analytics for
Nationwide, who will discuss the shifting consumer attitudes toward
consumption and saving in the wake of the financial crisis; --
James Delaplane, partner with Davis & Harman, who will provide
an overview of pending legislation and regulatory changes and how
they may impact the financial services industry. -- Roger Ibbotson,
founder of Ibbotson Associates, professor of finance at Yale School
of Management, and partner at Zebra Capital Management, who will
discuss why asset allocation and diversification worked in 2008 and
why they continue to work today; -- Laurence Siegel, research
director for the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute, who will
present interpretations of the 2008 crash from a number of leading
financial experts, including Peter Bernstein and Jeremy Grantham;
-- Lawrence Speidell, partner and chief investment officer of
Frontier Market Association, who will share his insights into
frontier markets as an asset class. Additional academic and
industry experts as well as thought leaders from across Morningstar
and Ibbotson will present breakout sessions covering topics such as
Ibbotson's economic outlook, a global history of stock market
crashes, advances in optimization and forecasting with non-normal
returns, the link between redemption fees and alpha, forecasting
fund manager alphas, and hedging risk in guaranteed products, to
name a few. "On the heels of the worst market downturn since the
Great Depression, individual investors, advisors, and institutions
are looking for better ways to fortify their portfolios against
dramatic market losses," said Peng Chen, president of Ibbotson
Associates. "We are excited to bring together thought leaders from
academia and the investment management industry to share their
outlook for the market and the economy, new techniques in
optimization and forecasting, and the role of alternative
investments. We hope to provide a better understanding of the
financial crisis and impart real-world solutions that attendees can
implement in their products and with their clients to help mitigate
risk and help investors reach their financial goals." In addition,
Morningstar will host an institutional software client symposium
for Morningstar Direct and Morningstar® EnCorr® users on March 3.
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 $1,095 per person, and early
registration is available for $950 through Feb. 5, 2010. 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 and Morningstar, Inc. Ibbotson Associates 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 more than 325,000 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 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based
in two other countries. ©2010 Morningstar, Inc. All rights
reserved. MORN-C Media Contact: Alexa Auerbach, 312-696-6481 or
DATASOURCE: Morningstar, Inc. CONTACT: Alexa Auerbach of
Morningstar, Inc., +1-312-696-6481, Web Site:
http://www.morningstar.com/
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