Morningstar Acquires Cuffelinks and Expands Investment Commentary

October 17, 2019

SYDNEY, Oct. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar Australasia Pty Limited, an Australian subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has acquired Cuffelinks, an independent, privately-owned publisher of investment commentary. Terms were not disclosed.

As part of the acquisition, Graham Hand and Leisa Bell will join Morningstar. Cuffelinks (now branded as Firstlinks) was co-founded and, prior to the acquisition, solely owned by Hand, a leading market commentator in Australia with a broad network of industry contacts cultivated over his 42-year career in the finance industry. In the seven years Cuffelinks has been in existence, Hand has built an engaged audience of investors, advisors and industry professionals by providing insightful content from leading voices across the local investment industry.

"This acquisition is an exciting opportunity to deepen and broaden our investment commentary and enable better investment outcomes," said Jamie Wickham, managing director, Morningstar Australasia. "We are very excited to have Graham and Leisa join the Morningstar team."

"We have always focused on quality education for investors. Morningstar is a great home for Cuffelinks given its integrity and commitment to independent research from an investor's point of view," said Hand.

Cuffelinks Co-Founder Chris Cuffe said, "I welcome Morningstar's acquisition to give Cuffelinks greater sustainability and offer even more services to its audience."

Cuffelinks will continue to be published on the existing Firstlinks website with longer-term plans to integrate the content with www.morningstar.com.au.

About Morningstar Australasia Pty Limited
Morningstar Australasia is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., 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, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with about $220 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2019. The company has operations in 27 countries. For more information, visit www.morningstar.com/company. Follow Morningstar on Twitter @MorningstarInc.

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