Research houseMorningstarsays it is definitely not pulling out of the Australian market despite continuing industry speculation that such a move is imminent.
Morningstar joint managing director in Australia Bevin Desmond says while the group’s US parent gave only a six-month funding commitment to the Australian office at the time of the dismissal of former managing director Graham Rich, this was by no means an indication of the overall commitment of the parent company to the Australian operations.
“[The six-month funding commitment] was simply a commitment that needed to be given. It was more of a legal issue because of the [dispute with Rich],” Desmond says.
Bevan has recently returned to Australia from her home in the US after departing Australia just before Christmas last year.
“Many things show that we are not pulling out,” she says. “We are developing new products which we will be launching in the second quarter and are working on improving our research process.”
The research house is currently in the final stages of developing the first two modules of Adviser Workstation, a flexible platform for investment selection, portfolio management, client assessment and client communications.
On the research front, Morningstar Australia’s head of research Daisy Chee says while the research process has remained unchanged for the past three or four years, the group is now looking to improve its efficiency and make it more relevant.
However, she confirms this does not mean a shift in Morningstar’s research style.
“The 50/50 quant model is going to stay, that’s why we are employing two more research people,” Chee says.
Morningstar Australia is currently in the process of recruiting an extra five people — two in both the research and data departments, and one in sales.
