# Morningstar

> Morningstar is an independent investment research company that turns dense financial data into ratings, analytics, and software that both professionals and everyday investors can actually use. Started in a Chicago apartment in 1984, it is best known for the five-star Morningstar Rating on mutual funds, and has grown into a roughly $2.3 billion business spanning fund and equity research (Morningstar Direct), private-market intelligence (PitchBook), credit ratings (DBRS Morningstar), ESG research (Sustainalytics), indexes, and managed portfolios.

- **Founded:** 1984
- **Headquarters:** Chicago, United States
- **Founders:** Joe Mansueto (Founder & Executive Chairman)
- **Team size:** ~11,000 employees
- **Products:** Morningstar Rating (the 'star rating'), Morningstar Medalist Rating, Morningstar Direct, PitchBook, Morningstar Sustainalytics
- **Notable:** Created the Morningstar Rating, the fund industry's most widely used scorecard, Popularized the 'economic moat' concept in equity analysis, Built independent research reaching individual investors and the largest institutions alike

## Products & services

- **Morningstar Rating (the 'star rating')** — The quantitative, backward-looking 1-to-5-star rating that scores funds against peers on risk-adjusted returns. First introduced in 1985, it remains the company's most recognized product.
- **Morningstar Medalist Rating** — A forward-looking analyst and algorithm-driven rating (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, Negative) assessing a strategy's potential to outperform. Extended to semiliquid private-market funds in 2025.
- **Morningstar Direct** — The flagship desktop and web research platform for investment professionals, offering data, analytics, portfolio tools, and reporting across global markets.
- **PitchBook** — Private-market data platform covering venture capital, private equity, and M&A, acquired by Morningstar in 2016.
- **Morningstar Sustainalytics** — ESG research, ratings, and risk data used by investors to assess sustainability and governance exposure.
- **DBRS Morningstar (Morningstar Credit)** — Global credit ratings agency covering corporate, structured finance, and sovereign debt, built on the 2019 DBRS acquisition.
- **Morningstar Indexes** — A growing family of market and strategy indexes, including the PitchBook US Modern Market 100 tracking public and private companies together.
- **Morningstar Wealth & Investment Management** — Managed portfolios, model portfolios, and advisory solutions for financial advisors and their clients.
- **Morningstar Retirement** — Managed accounts, advice, and fiduciary services embedded in workplace retirement plans.
- **Morningstar.com** — The consumer-facing site delivering ratings, articles, portfolio tools, and investor education to individual investors.

## Achievements

- Created the Morningstar Rating, the fund industry's most widely used scorecard
- Popularized the 'economic moat' concept in equity analysis
- Built independent research reaching individual investors and the largest institutions alike
- Grew from an $80,000 apartment startup to a ~$2.3 billion public company
- Assembled a multi-asset research portfolio: Direct, PitchBook, Sustainalytics, DBRS Morningstar, and Indexes
- Morningstar Credit surpassed $100 million in quarterly revenue for the first time in Q4 2025

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Completed the acquisition of CRSP; the CRSP Market Indexes, benchmark for more than $3 trillion in US equity assets, to be rebranded under Morningstar.
- **2025-09** — Launched the Morningstar PitchBook US Modern Market 100 Index, tracking public and private companies in a single benchmark.
- **2025-Q3** — Introduced the Morningstar Medalist Rating for semiliquid funds, extending forward-looking ratings into private markets.
- **2025** — Expanded private-credit and structured-finance capabilities with the acquisitions of Lumonic and DealX.
- **2025-Q4** — Morningstar Credit surpassed $100 million in quarterly revenue for the first time; full-year revenue grew across Direct, PitchBook, and Credit.

## Links

- Website: https://www.morningstar.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MorningstarInc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MorningstarInc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/morningstar
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-12