Transform Your Advisory Practice With Morningstar AI

The growing complexities of financial advisory demand innovative solutions, staying ahead of the curve is essential for delivering value to clients. Enter Morningstar AI tools, powered by the Morningstar Intelligence Engine. Financial advisors have turned to the AI assistant for real-time, independent insights to help them make informed decisions.

Our survey offers valuable insights into how industry professionals are leveraging artificial intelligence in their advisory practices, highlighting how AI can streamline decision-making and improve client outcomes. 

Discover how to combine agentic AI automation with advisor oversight in Direct Advisory Suite.

From answering specific investment questions to providing comprehensive fund data, AI tools transform how advisors work with Morningstar’s vast resources. 

While the tool‘s capabilities are powered by artificial intelligence, there’s a dedicated team behind the scenes ensuring that responses are not only accurate and reliable but also aligned with Morningstar’s high standards. Morningstar’s center of excellence is dedicated to its AI efforts, demonstrating its commitment to delivering data-driven AI solutions. The center of excellence reviews the AI assistant‘s answers weekly to identify and address any potential hallucinations—factually incorrect responses. Therefore, providing continuous oversight to ensure quality control and relevance.

To understand how financial advisors are using AI in their practice, we analyzed 850 questions asked over six months on Morningstar‘s investment research tools. 

This analysis reveals how artificial intelligence helps advisors enhance their workflow, from investment screening to portfolio analysis and fund research.

By using AI, financial advisors can access real-time insights from a vast pool of research, independent analysis, and fund data, all through an easy-to-use digital assistant. AI helps save time, reduce errors, and empower advisors with valuable information that enhances client conversations.

AI chatbots can process natural-language queries, read and understand hundreds of thousands of reports written by analysts, gather investment information, and then generate actionable, verifiable insights. Advisors receive the answers they seek in seconds while getting time back to invest in other high-value tasks. Users‘ questions and feedback help improve the platform‘s responses, allowing for seamless access to large data sets, processing power, and AI-driven recommendations.

Let's dive into how each category plays a role in helping advisors navigate investment opportunities.

Screening questions help financial advisors identify suitable investment options based on specific criteria, such as asset class, sector, or individual securities.

One example: “Find me a mutual fund that contains Amazon.”

Screening questions are vital for advisors who need to quickly identify investment options that match a client’s goals, preferences, or values. The AI assistant‘s ability to quickly filter through vast datasets helps advisors save time and focus on the most relevant options for their clients.

Workflow questions generally revolve around using the platform effectively navigating the interface, using specific features, or understanding product functionalities.

Examples of support questions include “How do I create a portfolio?” and “How do I import data into the platform?”

Advisors new to the platform or unfamiliar with specific features can turn to the AI assistant for help, ensuring they maximize the value of Morningstar’s tools. The AI assistant helps users get up to speed faster by providing clear, step-by-step guidance for advisors, ensuring a more intuitive experience for new and experienced users.

Research questions involve in-depth analysis of specific investments, market trends, or economic conditions. Advisors use these to deepen their understanding of investment options and form data-driven client recommendations.

This might include questions like “What is Morningstar's opinion on Amazon stock?”

Research questions allow advisors to quickly access expert insights, including Morningstar’s ratings, analyst opinions, and underlying data. This gives advisors the confidence to make informed recommendations that align with their client’s financial goals.

Data questions typically focus on specific metrics, ratings, or figures about individual securities, funds, or markets.

One example is “What is the star rating of Amazon?”

Data questions are helpful for advisors who need quick, specific information to support their recommendations or client conversations. Whether it‘s for a quick review of a fund's performance or checking the rating of a stock, the AI assistant streamlines access to key data points.

Morningstar‘s integrated AI tools empower financial advisors with the insights and data they need to work more efficiently and effectively. The AI assistant plays a key role in answering workflow questions, assisting with investment screening, providing research insights, and delivering real-time data—all in one application.