Read the latest insights on risk profiling, suitability, financial planning, portfolio planning and the advice industry at large from our internal experts.
Morningstar’s annual Investment Conference will take place as a digital event beginning Sept. 16–17, 2020. The event will be an immersive online experience that features all the key benefits you love about our flagship industry conference, bringing together industry leaders and investing experts to discuss the latest developments and share new perspectives on the market.
Gain the tools you need to help guide your clients and facilitate the investment strategy selection process for Morningstar® Managed PortfoliosTM by matching clients’ risk tolerance score to a fund. In doing so, you’ll be able to make an equal comparison between risk tolerance and investment risk. The FinaMetrica three factor risk profiling methodology is a six step process:
It’s industry consensus that the landscape of financial advice is evolving—specifically, the role of the advisor in the eyes of the investor.
In order to drill into what these changes are, and how advisors should prepare in response to them, we interviewed members of Morningstar’s Advisory Board—a group of financial professionals who help set the future product direction for the financial advisory segment by representing the voice of our clients, their peers, and industry leaders. Largely, they agreed that investor expectations for financial professionals have increased in intensity.
At Morningstar behavioral finance isn’t just a buzz word, it’s baked into our software to help empower investor success. Our dedicated behavioral science team leverages research and psychology to improve the user experience of our software and deliver better outcomes for its users.
In fact, Ryan Murphy, Samantha Lamas, and Ray Sin just won the 2020 Montgomery-Warschauer Award for their paper “Goals-Based Financial Planning: How Simple Lists Can Overcome Cognitive Blind Spots,” the highest honor awarded by the Journal of Financial Planning. The research found that asking people to self-report their investing goals is insufficient, with about 26 percent changing their top goal when prompted with a menu of other goals, and 73 percent changed one or more of their top three! These insights in the hands of advisors help prepare them to have more productive financial planning conversations with clients.
Steve Wendel, head of behavioral science for Morningstar, shares key highlights on Goals-Based Financial Planning: How Simple Lists Can Overcome Cognitive Blind Spots:
Professional Accountant and Institutional Sales Head transitions to Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager to help individual investors protect and grow their wealth. “My business and financial background has allowed me to offer a key differentiator to my clients – I engage with them at a deeper, more personal level and research and analyze their portfolios…
Professional financial advisors understand the importance of aligning clients’ risk tolerance with their long-term objectives. Unfortunately, the trade-off is too often an unacceptable compromise — reduce the objectives to stay within a client’s risk tolerance range or have the client take on a level of risk that is beyond their comfort level in an effort…
Nicki Potts, Director of Product Management at Morningstar (former COO & SVP, Product Development at FinaMetrica Pty Ltd), shares historical data that shows FinaMetrica risk scores across the globe remain relatively stable through stock market volatility. This research demonstrates that Advisors who perform a valid risk tolerance profile for their clients are more likely to see their clients stay the course during severe market downturns. -Mike Barad, Head of Financial Planning Software, Morningstar, Inc.
A letter from Mike Barad, Head of Financial Planning Software, Morningstar At Morningstar, we believe the advice industry is evolving from being product-centric to goal-focused, with the best interests of investors at the center, and financial planning will become even more central to what successful advisors do. This is why, in April, we announced the…
Samantha Lamas, Behavioral Researcher, Morningstar As the market pendulum continues to swing back and forth, many investors may be struggling to rein in their emotions. During these troubling times, financial advisors can use behavioral coaching tactics to help their clients manage their emotions and avoid making rash decisions. However, we know this is easier said…
Illiquidity is a multi-headed beast, like the Hydra water serpent of Greek mythology. The mere scent of the Hydra was deadly, just as a whiff of illiquidity can be deadly for cash-flow projections and financial plans. And cutting off just one head is not enough to protect you from trouble. There are multiple threats from…
