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Morningstar Direct is one of our main growth engines and had another strong year for license growth in 2010. 

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Morningstar Direct is a web-based software platform that offers all of our investment databases, analytics, and research for a single price. This simple approach appeals to our clients and makes sales and support easier. We’re just getting started with Morningstar Direct and see much potential. 

We position Morningstar Direct as a primary research platform and are focusing on consolidation opportu- nities. Last year, we enhanced performance attribution, performance reporting, fund flow data, separate account data, and our Presentation Studio for creating customized reports. We also added a new global fund manager database, where investors can research an investment manager and all the funds the manager oversees instead of looking only at a specific investment product. 

We also added access to real-time quotes through QuoteSpeed 2.0 to Morningstar Direct. We plan to do more integration of global real-time quotes—powering real-time performance attribution, for example. This will broaden the product’s institutional appeal and value. 

We’re working on a new software architecture for Morningstar Direct with a more intuitive user interface. 

We’ll make it a cloud application that’s accessible with a web browser and requires no installation. 

With the advent of the iPhone, iPad, and other similar devices, user expectations regarding interfaces, ease of access, and design have been rising markedly. We need to make sure Direct keeps pace. 

We acquired Logical Information Machines ( LIM) at the end of 2009. LIM aggregates 350 databases of interest to commodity and energy traders. Last year, we launched our LIM Evolution Platform for real-time access to data. We also added new data interfaces and tools and made progress converting existing data partners to a revenue-share model. Eventually, we’ll bring LIM’s commodity expertise and data into Morningstar Direct. 

