An updated version of Morningstar Office is now available. It includes many new features and enhancements, including:
Training
View a short release video that highlights major new features in this release.
Go to Home > Support & Training > Video Tutorials and click on “New Features.”
Home
Configure the Home page to meet your needs by moving components around and selecting those that you wish to hide and display. See Edit Home Page.
Go to Home > Settings > Page Layout to make your selections.
Learn about portfolio management provided by Morningstar Investment Services by clicking on the link in the Home area. If you already use MIS, you can use this link to access your accounts.
Go to Home > Morningstar Investment Services.
CRM
Select sets of clients or prospects and generate batches of letters using an editable MS Word template on the new Mail Merges page. Go to Practice > Mail Merges or Clients/Prospects > Mail Merge button. See Creating and Printing a Mail Merge.
Add custom logo to the Net Worth Statement.
Go to Home > Settings > Preference > Add Logo to Cover Page. See Including your company logo on reports.
Improved calendar import – problems associated with importing recurring meetings have been resolved.
Investment Planning
The new Investment Planning Module combines risk tolerance measurement, mean-variance optimization, Monte Carlo simulation, and automated portfolio construction into a unified step-by-step process for creating a complete multiple-goal investment plan. (Plans created in previous versions of Morningstar Office are automatically converted to the new planning format. However, you will need to revise and add information.)
Go to Practice > Plans. Note that you can also construct a portfolio for your clients without first creating a financial plan.
Now choose from three sets of Morningstar capital assumptions. In addition to the original set of 14 asset classes, you can now opt for the Morningstar Consolidated (7 asset classes) or Morningstar Expanded (19 asset classes) market assumptions.
Create user-defined capital market assumptions based on the Morningstar 14, Morningstar Consolidated or Morningstar Expanded assumptions.
Go to Workspace > Market Assumptions.
Please note that the templates for the Investment Policy Statement and Investment Recommendation Report are changing from Microsoft Word to PDF format. You will still be able to customize the reports.
Portfolio Accounting
Use the new Portfolio Benchmark Comparison Report to compare individual security returns by asset class to Morningstar default benchmarks. You can change the benchmarks that appear on the report from the Definition Master.
Go to Practice > Accounts > account window > Reports > Performance > Performance > Portfolio Benchmark Comparison.
Generate a List of Securities in Practice Report.
Go to Reports > Management Reports > List of Securities in Practice.
View detailed or consolidated lots on the Unrealized Gain/Loss Report.
Go to Reports > Portfolio > Unrealized Gain/Loss.
Generate a Billing Statement or Management Fee Report with improved formatting.
For the Billing Statement, go to Practice > Billings > Billing Statement.
For the Management Fee Report, go to Practice > Accounts > account window > Management Reports > Management Fees.
Display both cover page and footer logos on reports in either .gif or .jpg format. Please note that if you currently have logos stored in Morningstar Office, you must re-upload them after the release.
Go to Home > Settings > Preference. See Including your company logo on reports.
Choose either Net of Fees or Gross of Fees for the Account Statement.
Go to Practice > Accounts > account window > Reports > Account Statement.
When comparing benchmark returns on the Performance Summary Report, you can now see partial period returns for benchmarks when Morningstar has daily returns.
Go to Practice > Accounts > account window > Reports > Performance > Performance Summary.
When generating a Performance Summary Report, the calculations now include only the Period Realized and Unrealized Gain/Loss.
Go to Practice > Accounts > account window > Reports > Performance > Performance Summary.
Groups are now available in batch reporting.
Go to Reports > Schedule.
Now print all reports in a batch with the Print Selected Batch button.
Go to Reports > Reports > Print Selected Batch.
Select user-defined print ranges for each report in a batch.
Go to Reports > Templates > Batch Templates.
Save any report generated to your local drive rather than only to your desktop.
Funds Research
See Extended Performance in the security grid view.
Go to Home > Settings > Preference.
Search by Does Not Contain for a security name. When creating a search by criteria in a research universe, use the operator Does Not Contain when searching for a security name.
Go to Research > research universe > Search.
Import
Import multiple sets of custodian files into a single blotter. Check the “Include Subfolders” check box on the import dialog.
Go to Import > Double-click the Import Source.
Import from three new custodians: LPL Universal Interface, SEI, and Trust Company of America.
Go to Import > Import Sources.
Use the new Corporate Actions Spin-off Wizard to help guide you through the process of adjusting cost basis for spin-offs.
Import multiple sets of custodian files into a single blotter.
Go to Import > double-click the source > Check the Include Subfolders check box on the import dialog.
The corporate action wizard can be launched from the same area as the definition master does.
Client search/match by SSN/DL - during the import process, we will match clients by SSN, DL, and names, in that order.
Import customized mappings/labels from Advent Axys CLI files. Save the customization for later imports.
Go to Import > Advent Axys - transactions (CLI)
OE now supports importing of the Pershing ACCT account file.
Data Update
Read about changes to the Morningstar Style Box methodology.