The Morningstar Workshops Series provides live guidance and education on a variety of investment topics. Developed and presented by our investment experts, each training session delivers information and strategies that investors can apply to their own portfolios. Attendees benefit from person-to-person interaction with Morningstar’s top investment strategists and analysts. Events are held online or at our global headquarters in downtown Chicago.
For 25 years, Morningstar has been a trusted source for insightful investing information and guidance. We are committed to creating products and services that help investors reach their financial goals.
Cancellation Policy Registration fees are 100% refundable if we receive your cancellation notice 10 business days before the event. If you have registered and cannot attend, you may send someone else in your place.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with additional information about your workshop.
* Morningstar, Inc. is registered as a Continuing Education Sponsor with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP® Board). Participants completing this program qualify for three hours of CE credit as granted by the CFP Board. Please see the event manager at this workshop to confirm CE credit for your participation in this program.
Cancellation Policy Registration fees are 100% refundable if we receive your cancellation notice 10 business days before the event. If you have registered and cannot attend, you may send someone else in your place.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with additional information about your workshop.
Cancellation Policy Registration fees are 100% refundable if we receive your cancellation notice 10 business days before the event. If you have registered and cannot attend, you may send someone else in your place.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with additional information about your workshop.
Cancellation Policy Registration fees are 100% refundable if we receive your cancellation notice 10 business days before the event. If you have registered and cannot attend, you may send someone else in your place.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with additional information about your workshop.
Cancellation Policy Registration fees are 100% refundable if we receive your cancellation notice 10 business days before the event. If you have registered and cannot attend, you may send someone else in your place.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with additional information about your workshop.
Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance
Editor, Morningstar PracticalFinance
Christine Benz is director of personal finance for Morningstar, Inc. and editor of Morningstar PracticalFinance, a monthly print newsletter for individual investors. She also writes a weekly column on Morningstar.com and is co-author of Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success, a national bestseller published in 2003, and author of the book's second edition, which was published in 2005. Before assuming her current role in 2008, Benz served as Morningstar's director of mutual fund analysis. She has also served as editor of Morningstar Mutual Funds, the firm's flagship newsletter.
Benz holds a bachelor's degree in political science and Russian/East European studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Scott Burns, Director Exchange-Traded Securities Analysis
Editor, Morningstar ETFInvestor
Scott Burns is the director of ETF analysis for Morningstar and editor of Morningstar ETFInvestor. Prior to joining the ETF team, Burns was an associate director for the equity research staff, where he was in charge of training and methodology development. In his time on the equity research team, Burns also served as a senior equity analyst and team leader, covering the steel and aluminum industries. Before joining Morningstar in April 2004, he spent a year teaching corporate finance and cash-flow modeling for Bank One. Prior to that, Burns spent four years as an analyst and later as an associate with the Banc of America Securities Leveraged Finance group.
Burns holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Philip Guziec, CFA, Derivatives Strategist
Editor, Morningstar OptionInvestor
Philip Guziec, CFA, is a derivatives strategist and portfolio manager and editor of Morningstar's OptionInvestor research service. Prior to starting his current role in August 2006, Guziec covered investment banks and exchanges for Morningstar's financial services team. He has also been a stock analyst and team leader at Morningstar, initially covering the automotive industry and a number of industrial companies, and managing the work of the transportation research team.
Before joining Morningstar in 2003, Guziec spent two years as a management consultant to automotive, alternative energy, and industrial companies. Guziec holds bachelor's degrees in economics and mechanical engineering and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a master's degree in business administration in analytic finance and marketing, with honors, from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Guziec also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Brett Horn, Associate Director of Equity Research
Brett Horn Brett Horn is an associate director of equity analysis for Morningstar, overseeing the business and financial services team. Before joining Morningstar in 2006, he worked in the banking industry for about a decade, most recently as a commercial loan officer at First Bank, where he was responsible for underwriting loans and managing relationships with middle market clients.
Prior to First Bank, Horn worked at Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., where he managed loan portfolios and client relationships, primarily with Fortune 500 companies. Horn holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a major in finance, from the University of Wisconsin. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois.
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Senior Options Analyst
Editor, Morningstar OptionInvestor
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon is responsible for generating option-related investment strategies based on Morningstar’s techniques of fundamental analysis, building the firm’s franchise in option investing, and developing tools and materials related to investing in options and other derivatives. He joined Morningstar in 2006 as an equity analyst, covering the semiconductor sector.
Before joining Morningstar, Kobayashi-Solomon worked in the risk control department of the Tokyo branch of a large U.S. investment bank and eventually rose to become the head of listed futures and options operations. In 2003, he moved to the buy-side, working as an investment fund risk manager, designing options and future hedges for a global stock portfolio of roughly $800 million and developing and analyzing quantitative and fundamental investment strategies.
Russel Kinnel, Director of Fund Research
Editor, Morningstar FundInvestor
Russel Kinnel is director of mutual fund research for Morningstar, Inc. and editor of Morningstar FundInvestor, a monthly print newsletter for individual investors. He also writes the Fund Spy column for Morningstar.com, the company's investment Web site.
Since joining the company in 1994, Kinnel has covered the Fidelity, Janus, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard mutual fund families. He helped develop the new Morningstar Rating for funds and the new Morningstar Style Box methodology. He also is co-author of the company's first book, The Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success, which was published in January 2003.
Brian Nelson, CFA, Director of Training
Brian Nelson, CFA, is an associate director of training for the equity research staff for Morningstar, responsible for training and methodology development. Prior to his current position, he served as a senior equity analyst on the industrials team, covering aerospace and environmental services companies.
Before joining Morningstar in February 2006, he worked for a small capitalization fund covering a variety of sectors for an aggressive growth investment management firm in Chicago.
Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a minor in mathematics, magna cum laude, from Benedictine University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Josh Peters, CFA, Equities Strategist
Editor, Morningstar DividendInvestor
Equities strategist Josh Peters is the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor, a monthly newsletter that provides quality recommendations for current income and income growth from stocks. Josh manages of DividendInvestor's model dividend portfolios, the Dividend Harvest and the Dividend Builder. Josh joined Morningstar in 2000 as an automotive and industrial stock analyst. After leaving in 2003 to join UBS Investment Bank as an equity research associate, he returned to Morningstar in 2004 to develop DividendInvestor.
Peters holds a BA in economics and history from the University of Minnesota Duluth and is a CFA charterholder. He is also the author of a book, The Ultimate Dividend Playbook, which was released by John Wiley & Sons in January 2008.
