Pros

Overall in good times a great company to work for, w/ a great benefits package, intelligent and motivated individuals that are a pleasure to work with, and many opportunities to move around and develop your skill sets. Management is very approachable.

Cons

Morningstar touts its benefits heavily in the interview process, and for good reason, as this largely makes up for lower salaries relative to the industry. In bad times, true colors may show. In 2009 the company, though profitable, cut numerous benefits, including the large 401k match, the professional/educational stipend, and the tuition reimbursement. These were all cut without notice, and students enrolled in expensive programs (e.g. Chicago/Booth School at ~$100k cost of education) were not grandfathered in. Despite these painful cuts, employees are still encouraged to investigate and recommend potential acquisition opportunities. The cuts have been justified as a means of avoiding job cuts in bad times, yet each month positions are cut and people who have spent much of their career with the company have found themselves out of a job in a very cold job market.

Advice to Senior Management

2009 may have caused Morningstar to lose some credibility with some of its most dedicated and hard-working employees. I notice from my peers an unusually high level of stress and in many cases some uncharacteristically long hours being worked since the start of 2009. You may need to be proactive as the job market turns to avoid loosing valuable and hard-to-replace individuals. I know that this tough year was a first for management and I appreciate your intentions to make the best of a difficult situation. Overall, I personally am proud to work for the company and hope that the worst is behind us.