CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the agenda for the Morningstar Institutional Conference taking place March 3-4 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Ariz. The conference is Morningstar's premier event for sophisticated investors and wealth managers featuring thought leaders from academic institutions, the financial services industry, and Morningstar. This year's theme is "Rational Investing in an Irrational World."

"Most people consider themselves rational, but a growing body of research suggests that we greatly underestimate our vulnerability to mental biases. And while some have labeled the investment markets irrational, arguably they are in fact highly rational reflections of the decisions of sometimes less than rational market participants," Daniel Needham, president and CIO of Morningstar's Investment Management group, said. "With that paradox in mind, we've assembled a stable of thought leaders to explore the challenges of investing rationally in an irrational world and tangible ideas for adding value to investment portfolios."

Conference general session speakers include:


    --  Yves Choueifaty, president and chief investment officer for TOBAM, will
        discuss the inefficiencies of market cap-weighted benchmarks and
        introduce a better alternative.
    --  Roger Ibbotson, Ph.D., chairman and chief investment officer for Zebra
        Capital Management and professor of finance at the Yale School of
        Management, will explore how to harness the "theory of popularity" to
        construct smart beta, concentrated long, and long-short portfolios.
    --  John Lynch, Ph.D., professor of free enterprise at the University of
        Colorado and director of the Center for Research on Consumer Financial
        Decision Making, will examine financial literacy education and investor
        behavior.
    --  Terrance Odean, Ph.D., professor of finance at the University of
        California, will cover why financial professionals take unacknowledged
        and unrecognized risks.
    --  Matt Slaughter, Ph.D., dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth,
        will discuss the outlook for the global economy.

Thought leaders from across Morningstar will present new research during a series of breakout sessions that explore rational investing across the capital structure through presentations on stock ownership preference, macroeconomic insights, and time-varying capital market assumptions. Morningstar speakers will also delve into Morningstar's new Sustainability Rating for funds as well as a number of behavioral topics such as game theory and incentive conflicts in asset management.

For more information or to register for the conference, please visit http://corporate1.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Institutional-Conference or call +1 877-525-3257. Attendees may 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 +1 312-696-6481 or alexa.auerbach@morningstar.com.

About Morningstar, Inc. and Morningstar's Investment Management Group

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 individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17 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 advisory subsidiaries. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Morningstar's Investment Management group, through its investment advisory subsidiaries, creates custom investment solutions that combine award-winning research and global resources with proprietary Morningstar data. With approximately $170 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2015, the Investment Management group provides comprehensive retirement, investment advisory, and portfolio management services for financial institutions, plan sponsors, and financial advisors around the world.

©2016 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

MORN-C

Media Contacts:
 Alexa Auerbach, +1 312-696-6481 or alexa.auerbach@morningstar.com

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SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.