CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the nominees for its 2015 CEO of the Year award. Morningstar annually recognizes a chief executive who exhibits commendable corporate stewardship, demonstrates independent thinking, creates lasting value for shareholders, and has put his or her stamp on an industry.

The three nominees are Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com; Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric Co.; and John Stumpf, Wells Fargo & Co.

"To identify the strongest contenders for our annual CEO of the Year award, our global equity analyst team scrutinizes the management teams of more than 1,450 companies to distinguish those with a track record of strong leadership whose capital-allocation practices have benefited shareholders. Our three nominees each lead companies our analysts consider to have a Wide 'Economic Moat' rating, or structural competitive advantages that position them to earn above-average returns on capital over a long period of time," Michael Holt, global head of equity research for Morningstar, said.

Holt added, "We also weigh what happened during the year to identify chief executives who deserve consideration. This year we have three worthy nominees. The first is Jeff Bezos, who has guided Amazon to what we believe to be a critical inflection point in the company's margin expansion story. Jeffrey Immelt has executed a series of spin-offs and divestitures to reposition GE toward its industrial roots in aviation, power, healthcare, and oil and gas. John Stumpf has steered Wells Fargo through a difficult period in the industry, building up strength through conservative balance sheet management and bold mergers and acquisitions while many of the company's peers languished." 



    Nominated                       Morningstar Fair       Morningstar(R)   Morningstar(R)  Morningstar
    CEO/Firm                        Value Estimate         Economic         Stewardship     Equity Analyst
                                                            Moat(TM) Rating  Rating
    ---                             ---                   ------                           ---

    Jeff Bezos,                                      $700   Wide             Exemplary       R.J. Hottovy, CFA
    Amazon.com
    ----------

    Jeffrey Immelt,                                   $30   Wide             Standard        Barbara Noverini
    General Electric
    ----------------

    John Stumpf,                                      $61   Wide             Exemplary       Jim Sinegal
    Wells Fargo
    -----------

    Information as of Jan. 6, 2016.

Morningstar's Economic Moat(TM) Rating is a proprietary measure of a company's sustainable competitive advantages, and Morningstar assigns each company it covers a rating of Wide, Narrow, or None. A company can derive an economic moat through five primary sources: Efficient Scale, a limited market where there is little incentive for new entrants; Network Effect, a situation where incremental customers add value for existing customers; Cost Advantage, allowing a company a greater profit margin and/or the ability to steal market share; Intangible Assets, e.g. patents or strong brands; and Switching Costs, making it costly in time and/or money for customers to switch providers.

Morningstar plans to announce its 2015 CEO of the Year award winner on Jan. 26, 2016. For Morningstar's article about the nominees, visit http://www.morningstar.com/goto/ceoynominees2015. For the complete list of past winners, visit http://corporate.morningstar.com/CEOhalloffame.

Morningstar introduced its CEO of the Year award in January 2000. Winners are chosen by senior members of Morningstar's equity analyst team based on their in-depth independent research. For more information about Morningstar Awards, visit http://corporate1.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Awards/.

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 individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17 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 investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $170 billion in assets under advisement and management as of Sept. 30, 2015. The company has operations in 27 countries.

The company references above should not be considered a solicitation by Morningstar to purchase shares of those companies.

©2016 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

MORN-R

Media Contact:
Carling Spelhaug, +1 312-696-6150 or carling.spelhaug@morningstar.com

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