Morningstar Research Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), has acquired Andex Associates Inc., a privately held firm based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada that produces financial charts and communications materials for financial advisors. Terms were not disclosed.
Andex Associates was founded in 1993 by Anthony DiMeo and Dexter Robinson. The company is best known for its Andex Charts, individual graphic charts detailing historical market returns, stock index growth, inflation rates, currency rates, and general economic conditions for the United States dating back to 1926, and for Canada dating back to 1950. The charts offer in-depth historical information to help investors understand the context and propensity of market downturns and recoveries. Andex serves most of the leading financial services firms in Canada, including BMO Financial Group, CIBC, Great West Life, Investors Group, London Life, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust.
“Morningstar and Andex offer iconic images that help financial professionals communicate important messages about long-term investing, market performance, risk, asset allocation, and the historical context of the financial markets,” said Mike Barad, vice president of financial communications for Morningstar. “Andex Charts are the best-selling financial charts and images in the Canadian market, and Morningstar has the best-selling financial charts in the U.S. market. Adding Andex Charts to Morningstar’s product lineup will allow us to offer our combined client base a broader range of financial communications materials.”
Scott Mackenzie, president and chief executive officer of Morningstar Research Inc., said, “Morningstar has been building its business in Canada for the last decade, and we’re excited to be able to broaden our product offerings and further expand our brand presence in the Canadian market. This acquisition also gives us the opportunity to grow our client base and reach many new advisors and investors.”
Morningstar offers a full library of print, electronic, and Web-based market analysis communications materials including charts, graphs, books, brochures, and PowerPoint presentations to help advisors clearly communicate fundamental investment concepts to their clients. The company produces hundreds of charts, and its most popular one is the Ibbotson® SBBI® Chart, which shows U.S. capital markets performance dating back to 1926.
Separately, Morningstar Research Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of the equity research and data business of C.P.M.S. Computerized Portfolio Management Services Inc., a privately owned independent equity research and data firm in Toronto, for C$16.1 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.
C.P.M.S. tracks fundamental equity data for approximately 4,000 securities in the United States and Canada as well as provides brokerage earnings estimates for Canadian equities.
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