Morningstar to Offer Credit Ratings Data From Fitch Solutions in Bespoke Client Solutions

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Solutions is pleased to announce that Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, now offers Fitch Credit Ratings Data within its bespoke suite of website tools and data feed solutions that help its institutional clients conduct credit risk analysis and meet regulatory reporting standards.

“Given Morningstar's industry standing and global reach, today's announcement again highlights Fitch Solutions' position as a leading vendor of credit risk and research products”

Fitch's Credit Rating Data covers all of the agency's rated global sectors, issuers and securities and includes credit ratings, watches and outlooks, as well as up to 35 years of historical rating actions spanning 9,800 issuers and 1.1 million issues. The Credit Ratings Data will be available to Morningstar's bespoke solutions clients worldwide.

Morningstar provides in-depth information on more than 385,000 investment offerings along with independent fund and equity analysis produced by its team of approximately 260 analysts worldwide. The Credit Ratings Data will be available within Morningstar's bespoke solutions for financial institutions, further supporting Morningstar's Solvency II reporting solutions.

"Our commitment over the last 25 years has been to deliver world-class investment research. With many companies now facing new capital rules and requirements, such as Solvency II for insurers, the addition of the Fitch credit ratings data will further assist Morningstar clients in assessing the credit quality of their investment portfolio holdings, as well as counterparty risk," said Kunal Kapoor, president of the data division for Morningstar.

"Given Morningstar's industry standing and global reach, today's announcement again highlights Fitch Solutions' position as a leading vendor of credit risk and research products," said Ian Rothery, Fitch Solutions' global head of strategic partnerships.

About Fitch Solutions

Fitch Solutions, a division of the Fitch Group, focuses on the development of fixed-income products and services, bringing to market a wide range of data, analytical tools and related services. The division is also the distribution channel for Fitch Ratings content.

Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions are part of the Fitch Group, a jointly-owned subsidiary of Fimalac, S.A. and Hearst Corporation. For additional information, please visit 'www.fitchsolutions.com'; 'www.fitchratings.com'; 'www.fimalac.com' and 'www.hearst.com'.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 385,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has more than $186 billion in assets under advisement or management as of June 30, 2012. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Notes to Editors:

The full range of Fitch Credit Ratings now available to clients of Morningstar's bespoke solutions consists of ratings for issuers and issues as follows:

- Corporate Finance - includes all Fitch issuer and issue ratings for Banks, Financial Institutions, Corporates, Insurance companies, Sovereigns, and non-US Public Finance entities.

- Structured Finance - includes all Fitch issuer and issue ratings for Asset-Backed Securities, Mortgage-Backed Securities, CBOs/CLOs, Loan Products, and Managed Funds.