Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Support MFO
Donate through PayPal
Morningstar to Acquire CRSP (UChicago Indexing R&D)
I added more links to OP that I had posted from my phone.
We can only guess details for now.
Would physical facilities move from U Chicago in Hyde Park, Chicago to Morningstar HQ in Downtown Chicago? My guess is those would move to M* Downtown HQ eventually.
Press release does say that CRSP staff will join M* indexing group.
CRSP has brand recognition now. It was only an academic center until Vanguard dumped MSCI in 2012 over fees and started using "unknown" (then) CRSP indexes for several of its funds; VG also provided some funding to CRSP then. So, it would make sense to keep CRSP name or label it M* CRSP...
M* CEO Kunal KAPOOR has UChicago (Booth) MBA. M* Founder Joe Mansueto also has UChicago MBA. They both probably have good personal ties with U Chicago. So, this isn't a hostile deal.
I hope that new M* CRSP will remember 2012. History is that Vanguard provided some initial support for early MSCI when it was a unit within Morgan Stanley/MS. MSCI was spinned-off in 2007 IPO and by 2012, it thought it had become big enough to twist Vanguard's arms to jack up its indexing fee. What VG did shocked MSCI and the fund world - it just dumped MSCI and started using CRSP. If M* CRSP tries to play games with VG, it too can be dumped - may be VG can find another up-and-coming indexer, or even go internal with its indexes.
AUM under these ETFs may be small, but the point is that Morningstar is gradually becoming a force in credit ratings, advisory services, & now, in indexing.
That's a long way from its beginning in mutual funds.
Many posters may have fond or bad memories from M* Discussions, but those were shutdown in December 2024. Watch for M* Legacy Portfolio also continues.
Comments
Will this acquisition impact Vanguard's CRSP index licensing fees?
We can only guess details for now.
Would physical facilities move from U Chicago in Hyde Park, Chicago to Morningstar HQ in Downtown Chicago? My guess is those would move to M* Downtown HQ eventually.
Press release does say that CRSP staff will join M* indexing group.
CRSP has brand recognition now. It was only an academic center until Vanguard dumped MSCI in 2012 over fees and started using "unknown" (then) CRSP indexes for several of its funds; VG also provided some funding to CRSP then. So, it would make sense to keep CRSP name or label it M* CRSP...
M* CEO Kunal KAPOOR has UChicago (Booth) MBA. M* Founder Joe Mansueto also has UChicago MBA. They both probably have good personal ties with U Chicago. So, this isn't a hostile deal.
I hope that new M* CRSP will remember 2012. History is that Vanguard provided some initial support for early MSCI when it was a unit within Morgan Stanley/MS. MSCI was spinned-off in 2007 IPO and by 2012, it thought it had become big enough to twist Vanguard's arms to jack up its indexing fee. What VG did shocked MSCI and the fund world - it just dumped MSCI and started using CRSP. If M* CRSP tries to play games with VG, it too can be dumped - may be VG can find another up-and-coming indexer, or even go internal with its indexes.
Then, it licenses its indexes to others in US, Europe, Asia.
A quick web search found following ETFs that have Morningstar in their names:
First Trust FDL, FMF
FlexShares GUNR, TILT, TLTD, TLTE
iShares ILCB, ILCG, ILCV, IMCB, IMCV, ISCB, ISCG, ISCV, IYLD
VanEck GOAT, MGRO, MOAT, MOTG, MOTI, MVAL, SMOT
That's a long way from its beginning in mutual funds.
Many posters may have fond or bad memories from M* Discussions, but those were shutdown in December 2024. Watch for M* Legacy Portfolio also continues.