Context Is Key: The Value of Perspective

The Internet can feel like an echo chamber. Ideas get shared millions of times a day, sometimes distorted or disconnected from the author’s original intent and rarely telling the whole story. Without context, even bad ideas can travel very far. The antidote, if there is one, is information literacy: We all need to stay sharp on the sources and biases of the information we use to make decisions.

The tempest of questions investors face in 2020 has moved Morningstar to (once again) revamp how we convey investing information to our readers. Empowering investor success at Morningstar has always meant providing independent views to investors, and success now requires offering those well-researched conclusions and opinions while making it easier to see the context that these often-nuanced topics require.

Can we discuss healthcare company forecasts without considering public policy? Could we assess retirement goals without acknowledging how the coronavirus is reshaping the way we plan, save, and spend? Not anymore.

What you see on our home page today is the first step of many we’ll make over the next year to enrich the context we deliver to our readers. Starting with the new home page, you will see more variety of content and different emphasis day-to-day and throughout the day. We have designed this experience to make the most relevant information for investors stand out and to make it easier to discern and connect with other ideas.

We hope you’ll find that we’ve made it easier to gain perspective and dig deeper into a topic. Some content will feel familiar to Morningstar readers, but hopefully some of what we highlight will challenge the way you think about us and about investing. The market thrives on disagreement, after all, and we love a good contrarian call.

Please drop me a note if you have topics you’d like to see us cover or comments on how we can improve how you receive information from Morningstar.