Home Page
Filters in Task Widget
Home > Home > Tasks
You can now filter the tasks that appear in the Tasks widget using any standard or user-defined task filter. For example, you can view all the tasks you have created or view all tasks that are more than 50% complete.
Exclude Accounts from Practice Summary Widget
Home > Home > Practice Summary
You can now exclude certain accounts from the Average Balance Per Client and Assets Under Management calculations displayed in the Practice Summary widget using the “Exclude Accounts” drop-down field. Note: This does not affect any report calculations.
Client Information Management
User-Defined Data Points for Clients/Prospects/Members
Home > Settings > Personal Settings > User Defined Fields Settings
You can now create custom data points to appear within client, prospect, and member records and in the grid view. User-defined data points can be in the form of a custom category (up to 30 items per category), static date, rolling date, numeric format, URL, or free text (up to 250 characters). User-defined fields can be edited from Client Profile > User Defined Fields. You can display custom data points in the Clients or Prospects page under Client Management by editing the view.
Note Manager Import
Import > Microsoft Excel – Investment Notes
You can now import investment notes from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, review them in the Import Blotter, and post them to Note Manager.
Import
New FOLIOfn Import Interface
Import > FOLIOfn
FOLIOfn, Inc. is a company that provides a new type of investment vehicle called Folios to financial advisors. A Folio is defined as a portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds that can be bought and sold as a single order (FOLIOfn allocates the order across all of the holdings in the Folio.) This investment vehicle is very attractive to financial advisors because it reduces brokerage trading commission costs with FOLIOfn’s low, flat-fee cost for unlimited, commission-free trading and rebalancing plans.
Un-post Transaction Batch Functionality
This new feature allows you to view your recent transaction batch history and un-post one or more transaction batches.
Two-Way Reconciliation to Check for Closed Accounts
Previously, Morningstar Office only allowed one-way reconciliation, meaning the system only reconciled accounts the user imported into their local blotter. Occasionally, the closing transactions of an account are never received from the custodian and the account simply disappears from the custodian files and is omitted from reconciliation. Now, you can periodically reconcile based on the positions that are posted to Morningstar to handle dormant accounts in Office. You can also generate the closing transactions necessary to close the account.
Reconciliation View Enhancement
There is now a single Pending/Posted Transaction View, allowing you to easily investigate and resolve out-of-balances with your custodian.
Cost Basis Project, Phase I
The new “Specify Lot” function scans all imported transactions for closing transactions that have an accounting method of “Specify Lot.” If they are found, you will be prompted to specify which open lot(s) you want to close in Morningstar’s system.
Technical Improvements
Enhancements have been made to improve the speed of reconciliation.
Client Web Portal
Account Details Tab Added
Home > Settings > Personal Settings > Client Web Portal Settings > Account Detail Settings
A new Account Details tab is available in the Client Web Portal. You can display any or all of the following sections:
Holdings
Asset Allocation
Investment Activity Graph
Recent Transactions
Investment World Region Breakdown
To add this page to your Client Web Portal, go to the new Account Detail Settings tab within Client Web Portal Settings.
Disclosure Settings
Home > Settings > Personal Settings > Client Web Portal Settings > Disclosure Settings
Under the new Disclosure Settings tab, you can enter disclosure text to be displayed in the footer of your Client Web Portal pages.
Edit Email Signature
Home > Settings > Personal Settings > Client Web Portal Settings > Notification Settings
Under the Notifications Settings tab, you can edit the signature that appears on Client Web Portal notification emails sent to your clients (up to 600 characters).
Reporting Profile Override
Home > Settings > Portfolio Accounting System Settings > Reporting Profile Override
Morningstar Office pulls identifying information from your user profile to display on report cover pages and the Client Web Portal. However, if you want to display a different name, firm name, etc., you can enter alternate information. You can also select which information you want to appear on reports and/or the Client Web Portal from this window.
Assistant and Administrator Access to Client Web Portal
Assistants can now preview the Web Portal for their advisor’s clients. Administrators can preview the Web Portal for all clients at their firm.
Workflow
New Workflow Management System
Home > Workflow
A workflow is a series of interrelated tasks. For example, you might create a workflow for setting up a new client. The new Workflow Templates page allows you to design a template of tasks which, once initiated, automatically creates tasks and assigns them to members of your firm.
Two new pages have been added under the Workflow folder: Workflow Monitor and Workflow Templates. On the Workflow Monitor page, you can view all your workflows or filter to view only completed, in progress, or stopped workflows.
Tools
ZIP Files Supported in Upload Tool
Tools > Batch Document Upload
You can now upload .zip files to the Reports tab and the Client Web Portal.
Upload Documents to Subfolders
Tools > Batch Document Upload
If you have created subfolders on the Reports page, you can upload documents directly to those folders from the Batch Document Upload tool.
Planning
Standalone Efficient Frontier
Tools > Efficient Frontier
You can now use the Efficient Frontier tool without opening a plan. The standalone Efficient Frontier can be accessed from an icon on the Investment Plans toolbar or from the universal Tools menu. You can load asset allocation models and generate PDF reports from the standalone Efficient Frontier.
Wealth Table Detail
Investment Planning > Plans > Forecast > Wealth Details
New detailed views are being added in the Wealth Table for Capital Market Assumptions, Additions and Withdrawals, Income and Expenses, Return Percentiles, and Wealth Percentiles. Below is a complete list of the data points available in each view. Note: because Minimum Required Distributions are now shown in the Additions and Withdrawals table, the check box to Show MRDs is no longer available in the Wealth Table window.
Capital Market Assumptions
Inflation Rate
Asset Class
Expected Return %
Standard Deviation
Yield %
Cash
US Large-Cap Value Stocks
US Large-Core Stocks
US Large-Cap Growth Stocks
US Mid-Cap Stocks
US Small-Cap Stocks
Non-US Developed Stocks
Non-US Emerging Stocks
US Investment Grade
US High-Yield Bonds
Non-US Bonds
Additions and Withdrawals
Year
Social Security
Pensions
Expenses
Taxes
Deficit Paid
Surplus/Shortfall
Miscellaneous Income
Account Contributions
MRDs
Annual Fees
Additions
Withdrawals
Income and Expenses
Year
Employment Income
Social Security
Pensions
Miscellaneous Income
Total Income
Retirement Needs
Education Expenses
Miscellaneous Expenses
Annual Fees
Total Expenses
Return Percentiles
Percentiles
Current 1 Year
Target 1 Year
Current 3 Year
Target 3 Year
Current 5 Year
Target 5 Year
Current 10 Year
Target 10 Year
Current 20 Year
Target 20 Year
Wealth Percentiles
Percentiles
Current 1 Year
Target 1 Year
Current 3 Year
Target 3 Year
Current 5 Year
Target 5 Year
Current 10 Year
Target 10 Year
Current 20 Year
Target 20 Year
Research
New Morningstar Analyst Rating for Funds
Research > Open End Funds > United States Mutual Funds
New Analyst Ratings and five Pillar Ratings are being added to the Morningstar Ratings and Grades view in the US Mutual Fund Universe. Analyst Ratings will be broken down as follows:
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Neutral
Negative
Under Review
Not Ratable (under coverage, will have analysis)
Null (not under coverage, no analysis)
Pillar Ratings will appear as Positive, Neutral, or Negative. For more information on the Morningstar Analyst Rating for Funds, see the fact sheet.
New Global Fund Report
Research > Open End Funds > US Mutual Funds > right-click > Reports > Global Fund Report
Available for US mutual funds, the Global Fund Report provides background information on the new Morningstar Analyst Rating, which combines qualitative (analyst-driven) and quantitative (numerically based) factors focused on five key pillars: Process, Performance, People, Parent and Price.
Portfolio Accounting
Amortization Wizard
Tools > Global Transaction Wizards > Amortization Wizard
With the new Amortization Wizard, you can set options for handling interest from fixed income securities, generate and review amortization transactions, and post those transactions to client accounts.
Option Handling in Transaction Wizard
Transactional Account > New Transaction > Transaction Wizard
Two new check boxes have been added to transaction types in the Transaction Wizard to allow you to indicate when you are assigning or exercising an option:
|
New Field |
Security Type |
Transaction Type |
|
“Assigned” check box |
Option |
Cover Short |
|
Stock |
Buy |
|
|
Sell |
||
|
Short Sell |
||
|
“Exercised” check box |
Option |
Sell |
|
Stock |
Buy |
|
|
Sell |
||
|
Short Sell |
Display an Account as a Line Item
Portfolio Management > Accounts > Account window > Profile/Settings > Account Profile > Display as a line item
You now have the option to display an account – a separately managed account, for example – as a single line item. The account will appear as a line item in the Account Aggregate; its underlying holdings will not be displayed. You can also enter a display name in the Account Profile to identify the line item.
Accounts flagged as line items will also be displayed as single holdings on the following reports:
Benchmark Comparison
Performance by Security/Security Type/Asset Class
Portfolio Current Value
Unrealized Gain/Loss(Consolidated Individual Lot)
Fixed Income Yields View Added to Holdings Summary
Account/Model Portfolio/Custom Benchmark > Holdings Summary > View > Fixed Income Yields
The new Fixed Income Yields view displays the following data points:
Current Yield on Price
Current Yield on Cost
Yield to Maturity on Price
Yield to Maturity on Cost
Yield to Call on Price
Yield to Put on Cost
Yield to Worst on Price
Yield to Worst on Cost
Portfolio Reporting
New Amortization and Accretion Report
Transactional account record > Reports > Fixed Income > Amortization & Accretion
This new account-level report lists the amortization and accretion status for fixed income securities, mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations based on existing amortization transactions.
New Monthly Performance by Account Report
Composite record > Reports > Monthly Performance by Account
Lists monthly time-weighted return for each account in the composite, either gross of fees or net of fees.
New Monthly Performance Summary by Account Report
Composite record > Reports > Monthly Performance Summary by Account
Lists monthly time-weighted return, beginning market value, ending market value, and net contribution for each account in the composite, either gross of fees or net of fees.
Current vs. Model Portfolio Report
Client/group/account record > Reports > Portfolio > Current vs. Model Portfolio
On the Current vs. Model Portfolio Report, you can opt to display securities only. You can also select custom colors for user-defined asset classes to appear in the pie chart.
Current vs. Target Asset Allocation Report Enhancements
Client/group/account record > Reports > Portfolio > Current vs. Target Asset Allocation
The following improvements have been made to the Current vs. Target Asset Allocation Report:
Add “Morningstar Security Category” as a new asset allocation option
Display asset classes with securities or asset classes only
“Approximate Transaction Value” column added to PDF report
Select custom colors for user-defined asset classes to appear in the pie chart
List of Securities in Practice As of Any Date
You can run the List of Securities in Practice report as of any date.
Excel Reports
You can now generate the following reports in Microsoft Excel format:
Current vs. Model Portfolio
Current vs. Target Asset Allocation
Global Money Balance
List of Securities in Practice
Portfolio 1099 Consolidated
Realized Gain/Loss
Display Stock Option Strategies on Reports
In cases where you have exercised stock options, you can include a Stock Option Strategy section on the following reports:
Portfolio Current Value
Unrealized Gain/Loss
Performance by Security
Batch Reports
New Upcoming Batch Report Review Page
Reports > Upcoming Batch Report Review
The new Upcoming Batch Report Review page displays your upcoming batch schedules and their next run dates. You can directly edit templates and schedules from this page.
Batch Schedule Cover Page Options
Reports > Batch Schedules
You can now specify a portrait or landscape cover page. If you select landscape, all other pages in the report will be landscape.
Completion Notification
Reports > Batch Schedules
In Batch Schedules, you can now opt to receive an email notification when your batch is ready.
Report Studio
Enhancements to Portfolio Evaluation/Portfolio Period Performance
Report Studio > Morningstar Templates > Performance Summary
In the Portfolio Evaluation and Portfolio Period Performance components, you can now group data in three levels. Options include by security, asset class, asset class or equity sector, security type, broad asset class, super asset class, and account.
New Morningstar Templates
Report Studio > New Report Template > Morningstar Template
When you create a new Morningstar template, you can now choose from the following options:
Sample Landscape Cover Page
Sample Portrait Cover Page
Current value by Asset Class
Unrealized Gain/loss by Asset Class
Unrealized Gain/loss by Security Type
Portfolio Summary by Super Asset Class
Portfolio Trailing Return by Asset Class
Performance Summary by Asset class
Performance Summary by Security type
Client Position Summary by Super Asset Class
Customize Morningstar Template Cover Pages
Report Studio > Morningstar Template > Text > Cover Page Text
You can now add custom cover page text to Morningstar Template reports. Right-click in the cover page text box and select “Prepared For” to auto-populate with a client name, client address, account owner name, account name and/or number, or report date. Note that you can only add one "Prepared For" item per box.
Workspace
Model Portfolios with History
Workspace > Model Portfolios > Variable Models
Variable model portfolios allow you to set up multiple portfolios within one model. You can select a buy and hold strategy or set a rebalance frequency. You can also select future dates for your models, allowing you to adjust portfolio allocations over time within a single model. The new Variable Model Portfolio Snapshot Report displays the multiple portfolios and date ranges.
Asset Allocation Based on Morningstar Category Asset Class
Workspace > Asset Allocation > Asset Allocation Profile
Create a model asset allocation based on the Morningstar Category asset class.
Billing
Use Month-End Average Balances
Home>Settings>Portfolio Accounting System Settings>Reports, Tax Lot Methods, Transactions, Management fees>Management Fee Setting
When billing in arrears, you can use the new “Month-end Average Balance” option when creating a management fee setting.
More Tiers Added to Management Fee Settings
Home>Settings>Portfolio Accounting System Settings>Reports, Tax Lot Methods, Transactions, Management fees>Management Fee Setting
The number of tiers in tiered management fees has been increased from six to 15.
“Annual Additional Fee” Field Added to Tiered Management Fee Setting
Home>Settings>Portfolio Accounting System Settings>Reports, Tax Lot Methods, Transactions, Management fees>Management Fee Setting
You can specify an annual additional fee when setting up a tiered management fee.
Bill New Accounts in Advance
Portfolio Management > Billing
You can generate fees for new accounts when using the Bill in Advance method.
Generate Fee Files by Advisor
Portfolio Management > Billing > Custodian Fee File
Admin users can generate separate fee files for each advisor at their firm.
Corporate Action Warehouse
Find Accounts with Corporate Actions
Tools > Launch Corporate Action Warehouse > Action > View Accounts with CA Holding
This new feature shows you all accounts with holdings impacted by corporate actions.
Imported Corporate Actions
Transactions flagged as corporate actions in the Import blotter will also be highlighted in the Corporate Action Warehouse. From there, you can launch the Corporate Action Wizard.