Daniel Rohr

Morningstar, Inc. (Research) is the investment research arm of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), an American financial services firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by Joseph Mansueto in 1984 and provides independent portfolio information offering star ratings and analysis of managed funds. They also provide economic commentary and asset allocation information based on qualitative research.

Founded by Dennis Hammond in 1985, Hammond Associates Institutional Fund Consultants, Inc. is an institutional fund consulting research firm located in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm is also known as Hammond Associates Institutional Fund Consultants, Inc. Their clients include universities, foundations, healthcare organizations, corporate and public retirement plans and private high net-worth individual investors. Hammond Associates combines academic theory and thorough proprietary research to develop sound, practical investment strategies for their clients. The firm's asset allocation model divides the investment universe into three distinct groups: (1) growth assets (2) risk reduction assets and (3) inflation-protection assets. Growth assets include the underlying managers of domestic and foreign equity securities. Risk reduction assets include the underlying managers of domestic and foreign fixed-income securities and other diversified strategies. Inflation-protection assets include the underlying managers of liquid real asset strategies such as real estate, commodities or energy. Hammond Associates' capital markets research team focuses exclusively on building and enhancing their best asset allocation strategies. The firm's traditional, hedge fund and private market research groups then source investments to implement those asset allocation orientations. For the selection of traditional investments, the firm's primary objective is to deliver the core exposures of their preferred asset classes. Hammond Associates uses hedge fund investments using them to complement traditional strategies in equities, bonds and real assets. With hedge fund allocations, the firm's first priority is capital preservation. Their services include manager sourcing, initial due diligence, hedge fund portfolio construction and post-investment monitoring including customized risk reports at the manager and portfolio level. Hammond Associates' private markets research team conducts rigorous due diligence evaluations of direct private equity and real assets fund managers. They seek to help optimize private market programs with disciplined and customized approaches for a variety of client situations. The firm models portfolio cash flows related to existing and projected commitments to help clients implement private market investment programs. Their proprietary monitoring and reporting system provides monthly portfolio visibility.