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We spent $102.3 million on seven acquisitions in 2010. ................................................................................................................................................................................................ . . 

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MIS had a productive year in 2010, with more than 50 manager visits. About three-fourths of our investment strategies were ahead of their benchmarks for the year. We introduced a new Wide Moat Focus Select Stock Basket, as well as a new Global Allocation mutual fund portfolio. 

We believe MIS has a bright future. We have only a 2% share of this large market and offer a well-run service backed by Morningstar. It’s also focused on advisors—a segment of the industry where we have special strength. Jeff Ptak runs MIS and is a solid investor with an unerring attitude of doing the right thing for investors. 

## Acquisitions 

We had another busy year on the acquisition front. We completed seven acquisitions, including expanded ownership in our Danish joint venture. We spent $102 million on these deals (up from $74 million in 2009) and acquired $32 million in annual revenue. We acquired some stellar firms with strong capabilities and people. Through the financial crisis, we continued to invest both in acquisitions and internal development. Because we run the business with a long-term perspective, it gives us confidence to invest when others pull back. 

That said, I believe you’ll see us do fewer acquisitions in 2011. We have a multitude of capabilities and assets, and I want to focus more on integrating them and driving excellence throughout the organization. We won’t turn off the acquisition spigot completely, but we’ll set the bar higher and give priority to companies that can enhance the value of our major software platforms. 

