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Morningstar Announces Deployment of Due Diligence Module at Canadian Firms
TORONTO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, announced today that it will
About this update from Morningstar, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"TORONTO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, announced today that it will be deploying its Due Diligence ModuleSM as part of Morningstar® Advisor WorkstationSM (AWS) at Canadian wealth management firms to help advisors address the \"Know Your Product\" (KYP) element of the Canadian Client Focused Reforms (CFRs).\nMorningstar's Advisor Workstation platform is a web-based investment planning platform containing capabilities for research, portfolio analysis, goal planning, sales presentations, and is used widely across the Canadian wealth management space. The Due Diligence module is a new addition to AWS providing a simple, guided workflow to help advisors perform the mandatory KYP requirements in evaluating a reasonable range of alternatives across a firm's approved product shelf. The Due Diligence Module was developed in consultation with industry participants, centering on a streamlined workflow to leverage Morningstar's industry-standard data and analytics.\nMorningstar has deployed this solution at multiple large Canadian financial institutions includingBMO Nesbitt Burns and BMO Private Investment Counsel, Manulife Securities, and Sun Life.\n\"There is a natural divergence between the need for advisors to focus on servicing clients in an effective manner, and the recordkeeping requirements from a regulatory standpoint. We believe our solution bridges this gap, allowing for an intuitive and seamless workflow that not only helps address part of the KYP requirements, but also helps advisors make better informed recommendations to investors. We are thrilled Canadian wealth management firms are taking advantage of this solution,\" said Scott Mackenzie, CEO of Morningstar Canada.\nThe KYP element of the client focused reforms requires advisors to document that they have considered risk, structure, liquidity, and impact of costs over time when making a recommendation to a client. The overarching theme is the requirement for advisors to demonstrate they have made a suitable recommendation that puts the client's interest first, which in part requires a documented comparison of a range of reasonable alternatives. This consideration puts the onus on advisors to be able to quickly scan a firm's product shelf for what they deem comparable, which can be an ...