CHICAGO, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ MORN ]), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced several appointments within its fund analyst research team.

Scott Burns has been named director of fund analysis for North America. Burns most recently was director of ETF, closed-end, and alternative fund research. In this new role he will also lead the mutual fund analyst teams in the United States and Canada. In addition, the company is aligning its fund research coverage along four areas: active, passive, alternative, and fund of funds, under the leadership of Burns, who reports to Don Phillips, president of fund research.

Michael Herbst has been promoted to director of active strategy research, spanning open-end and closed-end funds as well as active ETFs. Paul Justice and Ben Johnson will co-lead coverage of passive strategy research, now including both ETFs and traditional index funds. Nadia Papagiannis will continue to lead Morningstar's alternative fund research, covering alternative mutual funds and alternative ETFs. Laura Lutton will be responsible for leading fund-of-fund research, including managed ETF portfolios, 529 college savings plans, and target-date funds. Lutton has also been named chair of the editorial committee that sets the overall direction for investment analysis across the four coverage areas in North America.

"Scott is a brilliant analyst who has done a terrific job leading and significantly expanding our ETF, closed-end fund, and alternatives coverage. Always a champion for the investor, Laura has done an exceptional job overseeing our Stewardship and target-date research. We're also pleased to announce Michael's new role as director of active strategy research. Michael is a natural leader who has broad experience covering funds across all asset classes," Phillips said. "Most investors don't hold exchange-traded funds or active mutual funds exclusively. Instead, they invest across a spectrum of vehicles. Our new alignment of coverage into active, passive, alternative and funds of funds research reflects the evolution of how investors are evaluating and employing investments in their portfolios."

Burns joined Morningstar in 2004 as a senior equity analyst, covering the steel and aluminum industries. He then became an associate director for equity research, where he was responsible for methodology development and training. Burns holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Lutton joined Morningstar in 1999 as an equity analyst and moved to the Fund Research division in 2001. Before joining Morningstar, Lutton was the Chicago bureau chief for American Banker, a daily newspaper for the financial services industry. She holds a bachelor's degree in government and international studies from Colby College and a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Prior to assuming his current role, Herbst was associate director of mutual fund analysis, covering primarily fixed-income and multi-asset strategies. He also served as the lead analyst for BlackRock, Western Asset Management, Invesco, and John Hancock funds. Herbst holds a bachelor's degree in music and English from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

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 more than 380,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 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 $190 billion in assets under advisement or management as of March 31, 2012. The company has operations in 27 countries.

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Media Contact:
Alexa Auerbach, 312-696-6481 or [ alexa.auerbach@morningstar.com ]

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.

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Morningstar Announces Fund Analyst Research Team Appointments

Morningstar Announces Fund Analyst Research Team Appointments