4 Things You May Have Missed: Day One of the 2023 Morningstar Investment Conference

2023’s Morningstar Investment Conference began today in Chicago. Whether you’re there in person or catching some of our social media live streams, here’s your daily digest of things to remember from?day one!?

1. Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor Introduces Morningstar Mo?

Kunal Kapoor kicked off today’s mainstage presentations with Morningstar Mo, a new AI tool programmed with financial information from Morningstar. His keynote focused on a few themes:?

• Investors feel overwhelmed by data and have trouble seeing the value of advice?
• Better technology and analytics can help financial advisors meet the moment for evolving investors?

Mo pulled its weight by quickly synthesizing data and information with questions ranging from “What makes a good financial advisor?” to “Which investors are good candidates for the tax benefits of direct indexing?”?If you’re attending #MICUS, come and say hi!?

2. Evaluating Emerging Asset Classes?

Charles Gross and Madeline Hume, CFA spend their day-to-day demystifying under-covered emerging asset classes and products in evolving investor portfolios. They brought their expertise to the #MICUS stage with insights on the need for deeper analysis of new vehicles to cover an investor’s entire evolving portfolio holistically.?

“Increasingly, there is a trend where we’re seeing more and more effort to make private equity an asset class more available to a broader spectrum of investors,” said Charles Gross, Morningstar’s director of equity research.?

“A renewed focus on research is needed to give investors a holistic view of their portfolios,” said Madeline Hume, NEXT Research Analyst.?

3. How to Use Morningstar’s New “Role in Portfolio” Framework?

Investors have more investment options than ever before, which means it’s messier to design an effective portfolio. Morningstar Portfolio Research Strategist Amy Arnott and Chief Ratings Officer Jeffrey Ptak, CFA shared Morningstar’s?new approach to portfolio construction, which focuses on two dimensions: a recommended minimum holding period and a maximum position size in a portfolio. ?

This framework helps investors determine the “role in portfolio” of each holding—that is, the time and space to devote to it. Download the paper to learn more!?

4. Combatting an Abundance of Data in Decision-Making?

Aswath Damodaran , Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, discussed the macroeconomic trends impacting market valuation and investor decision-making. With an abundance of data, investors tend to make quicker investment decisions when in fact, investors need to take more time. ?

Professor Damodaran noted that the notion that you must react instantly to data can often do more harm than good. “Remember the Hippocratic Oath: do no harm,” he said, “I think sometimes, when you’re in a crisis, the best advice is to do nothing.”?