Media Contact: Alexa Auerbach, or FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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1 Media Contact: Alexa Auerbach, or FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Morningstar Reports Hedge Fund Performance for September, Asset Flows Through August CHICAGO, Oct. 24, 2011 Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported preliminary hedge fund performance for September 2011 as well as asset flows through August. The Morningstar MSCI Composite Hedge Fund Index, an asset-weighted composite of nearly 1,000 hedge funds in the Morningstar hedge fund database, fell 2.3% for the month of September, compared to a decline of 8.6% for the MSCI World NR Stock Index. Hedge funds did their job," said Josh Charney, alternative investments analyst at Morningstar. While hedge funds generally followed the market down during the economic turmoil of September, on average they didn t fall far. Some categories even posted positive results. European and Asian equity-focused hedge funds in the Morningstar database were among the largest losers in September, but these funds declined much less than their market benchmarks. The Morningstar MSCI Europe and the Morningstar MSCI Asia Pacific Hedge Fund Indexes fell 5.9% and 3.3 %, respectively, while the MSCI AC Asia and MSCI Europe Stock Indexes dove 7.9% and 11.0%, respectively. September marked the end of the worst quarterly performance for the Morningstar MSCI Europe Hedge Fund Index since its 1998 inception an 8.5% drop. Similarly, the Morningstar MSCI Asia Pacific Hedge Fund Index slumped 8.4% in the third quarter, its worst quarterly performance in three years. Chinese equities tanked over slowing economic growth concerns and Australian stocks pulled back as commodities plunged. While there were few bright spots in September, two hedge fund indexes managed to post positive numbers for the month. The Morningstar MSCI Short Bias Hedge Fund Index, which tracks bearish hedge funds, increased 10.4% due to its negative market exposure. The Morningstar MSCI Currency Hedge Fund Index eked out a 0.7% rise, as some funds in this index profited from a rising U.S. dollar.

2 The Morningstar MSCI Directional Trading Hedge Fund Index, which contains funds that take systematic directional bets on price trends in liquid derivatives, also benefited from a rising U.S. dollar. In addition, these funds took advantage of the rise in U.S. Treasury bonds fueled by the Federal Reserve's Operation Twist and investors' rush to safe-haven assets in September. Higher-risk equity markets performed relatively poorly in September. The Morningstar MSCI Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index declined 6.8% on renewed fears of a global contraction and a sharp drop in commodity prices. Smaller companies, which tend to perform more poorly in downturns, also exhibited notably weak performance the Morningstar MSCI Small Cap Hedge Fund Index fell 7.3% in September and 13.8% over the third quarter. Event-driven strategies such as merger arbitrage and distressed securities also struggled in September amidst falling equity valuations. The Morningstar MSCI Event-Driven Hedge Fund Index plummeted 5.1%, its largest monthly decline since September of Credit market spreads also widened during September. The Morningstar MSCI Long-Short Credit Index fell 1.3% in September and 4.2% for the third quarter. Although the third quarter was difficult for most hedge fund categories, investors continued to pour money in to hedge funds in Morningstar's database through August. Total inflows during August for all single hedge fund strategies totaled $625 million, the sixth-straight month of inflows. Systematic futures hedge funds in the database netted the most inflows in August, $328 million in total, while Morningstar's global macro hedge fund category was hardest hit by outflows, totaling about $456 million. For the year-to-date through August, investors added almost $19 billion to single-manager hedge funds in the database, despite the fact that the average hedge fund, as measured by the Morningstar MSCI Composite Hedge Fund Index was down 3.9% year to date through September. Funds of funds in Morningstar's database, on the other hand, experienced their third-consecutive month of outflows, leaking $108 million in August. Investors have pulled $2.3 billion from funds of funds for the year to date through August. September returns for the Morningstar MSCI Hedge Fund Indexes are based on funds that reported as of October 17, August asset flows are based on funds that reported as of October 20, Hedge fund investors, managers, consultants, and advisors can access additional information through the Morningstar Alternative Investment Center SM, formerly Morningstar Altvest SM, the company s research platform designed specifically for hedge funds, or Morningstar Direct SM, the company s global research platform for institutions.

3 Morningstar has approximately 11,000 hedge funds and funds of hedge funds in its database. Morningstar calculates hedge fund indexes by applying the MSCI Hedge Fund Index Methodology and Hedge Fund Classification Standard to Morningstar s hedge fund database. These indexes demonstrate the performance of hedge funds to investors who have hedged their currency exposure back into U.S. dollars. The MSCI Hedge Fund Index Methodology classifies hedge funds by investment process, geography, and asset class. This release is not intended to be an offer or solicitation for the sale of hedge funds. The information is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. When considering hedge funds, investors should consider various risks, including the fact that some products engage in leveraging and other speculative investment practices that may increase the risk of investment loss, can be illiquid, are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information to investors, may involve complex tax structures and delays in distributing important tax information, are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds, often charge high fees, and in many cases the underlying investments are not transparent and are known only to the investment manager. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable in trading can lead to large losses as well as gains. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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 approximately 400,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 5 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 $180 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, The company has operations in 26 countries.

4 Morningstar Hedge Fund Indexes with MSCI September 2011 Q YTD through September 12-Month Trailing Morningstar MSCI Asia Pacific Morningstar MSCI Composite AW Morningstar MSCI Composite Core Funds Morningstar MSCI Composite EW Morningstar MSCI Composite Small Fund Morningstar MSCI Currencies Morningstar MSCI Developed Markets Morningstar MSCI Directional Trading Morningstar MSCI Emerging Markets Morningstar MSCI Europe Morningstar MSCI Event-Driven Morningstar MSCI Global Markets Morningstar MSCI Long-Short Credit Morningstar MSCI Merger Arbitrage Morningstar MSCI Multi-Process Group Morningstar MSCI North America Morningstar MSCI Relative Value Morningstar MSCI Security Selection Morningstar MSCI Short Bias All Size Morningstar MSCI Small Cap Morningstar MSCI Specialist Credit Market Indexes S&P 500 TR MSCI AC Asia NR USD MSCI World NR MSCI Europe NR USD MSCI EM NR USD BarCap US Agg Bond TR USD DJ UBS Commodity TR USD BarCap Global High Yield TR USD Russell 2000 TR USD BarCap Global Aggregate TR USD

5 Est. Hedge Fund Flows By Morningstar Category August 2011 Flows YTD Through August 12-Month Trailing Asia/Pacific Long/Short Equity 63,894, ,992,499 41,570,593 Bear Market Equity 636,081 22,468,848 28,118,774 China Long/Short Equity 4,388,820 15,443,146 1,867,940 Convertible Arbitrage 10,735,040 (879,203,967) (578,485,465) Currency 84,364,431 27,681, ,952,405 Debt Arbitrage 86,012, ,129,759 1,842,953,059 Distressed Securities 98,641,945 (69,588,131) (1,096,205,910) Diversified Arbitrage 291,219,790 3,070,286,749 3,580,055,519 Emerging Markets Long/Short Equity 175,403, ,186, ,754,509 Equity Market Neutral (169,295,066) 155,578,420 18,447,019 Europe Long/Short Equity 87,100,520 1,235,542,223 1,539,369,850 Event Driven (39,869,376) 767,343, ,050,918 Global Long/Short Equity (9,420,368) 394,407, ,602,730 Global Macro (456,209,569) 1,644,619,131 (1,693,333,914) Long/Short Debt 57,584,264 1,230,002,239 2,548,233,718 Merger Arbitrage (28,058,048) 488,282, ,511,954 Multistrategy (38,494,282) 1,103,476, ,272,017 Systematic Futures 328,181,877 9,025,633,576 12,495,605,940 U.S. Long/Short Equity 143,406,733 (1,559,051,069) (1,539,038,675) U.S. Small Cap Long/Short Equity 25,394,270 99,608,763 96,600,632 Volatility (90,901,994) (48,801,249) 469,521,137 TOTAL SINGLE-STRATEGY HEDGE FUND FLOWS 624,715,417 18,597,185,707 21,778,661,989 Est. Flows by Morningstar Rating 1-star (82,377,663) (43,052,158) 131,782,797 2-star 224,647, ,335,759 (595,748,844) 3-star 219,380,052 1,654,684,454 2,152,430,080 4-star (323,341,067) 5,337,024,689 8,335,116,243 5-star 156,943,821 4,013,914,844 2,242,902,965 No Rating 429,462,940 7,440,278,119 9,512,178,748 TOTAL SINGLE-STRATEGY HEDGE FUND FLOWS 624,715,417 18,597,185,707 21,778,661,989 Data note: Morningstar has discontinued calculation of the Morningstar Hedge Fund Indexes Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. MORN-R # # #