Zero In on Growth

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Resilient and remarkable year we had at Morningstar! It’s not easy, and sometimes exhausting, but we support each other to ride the ups and downs, just as Morningstar guides investors across volatility and uncertainty. I’m proud to say that Morningstar Asia’s businesses excelled and exceeded all targets. A heartfelt thank to every colleague for their hard work and professionalism to commit to our one and only mission: Empower Investor Success. Let me sum up and look ahead in some numbers.

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Characters: E, S, G. We aspire to establish a leading ESG position across each business, and we are relentless about it. To start, we set things straight in the Morningstar Sustainable-Investing Framework to clarify terms, motivations, approaches, and the role sustainability plays in portfolios.

At stock level, our equity research team has fully integrated ESG risks into their analysis. For funds and asset managers, we have a toolkit of sustainability metrics, notably the Morningstar ESG Commitment Level and the recently enhanced Morningstar Sustainability Ratings. Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, would speed up in gaining presence in key Asia markets like Hong Kong and Singapore.

20th

Morningstar Fund Awards will be held in Asia this year – it’s our honor to celebrate the best-in-class funds every year and we’re grateful for the industry recognition. Starting this year, we will make some changes for the Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan Fund Awards. Notably, we wish to recognize asset managers that have built strong ESG capabilities and have proven track records of integrating sustainability principles into their investment programs. Stay tuned for more updates.

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Days of quarantine requirement for travelers to Hong Kong, which means that it’s been two years since I last traveled. While I certainly missed the annual strategy meeting in Chicago and the business trips in the region, it makes me treasure every in-person interaction we remain to have in Hong Kong. This is something that can never be replaced by zoom, metaverse, or other digital means. ??

40

Inch of curved monitor is installed for everyone in the office now. As we continue adopting the flexible working arrangement, we have also introduced the hot-desking model in our Hong Kong office to cater for business growth and expansion. The aim is to equip every employee – regardless of working from home or in the office – with the best technology, while keeping the flexibility to bond with different teams and promote collaboration.

2022

Is exciting. So much to look forward to already: first and foremost, fingers crossed for more normalization. I am glad to greet the growing team of Sustainalytics and Pitchbook based in Hong Kong and Singapore; as well as explore more opportunities across client segments from asset and wealth managers, family offices, index providers to government bodies, to help them solve challenges ranging from investment needs, ESG research, due diligence requirements and more.

We have also been investing more to enhance our customer service and would no doubt continue doing so. Expect even more comprehensive data on Morningstar Direct, and more cool features via Notebooks launched last year, which enable users with the new automated analyses to drive fresh insights.

049483

Our current Singapore office postcode - but not for long! Let me first say how proud I am of the achievements last year – the appointment as the CPF Investment Scheme’s (CPFIS) investment consultant meant a lot to me personally as we won it back after 5 years; powering the fund and ESG data for the Investment Management Association of Singapore’s (IMAS) revamped fund portal showcases our commitment to drive greater awareness of sustainable investments. We are expecting to have a much bigger team and office in Singapore.

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Possibilities await. Morningstar is growing fast and strong. All this would not have been possible without your support. Wish you all a prosperous and healthy 2022 and Year of the Tiger!

#2021Highlights

#2022Goals

#EmpoweringInvestorSuccess

#ESG