Model Portfolios Show How Low Fees Can Go

Jason Kephart, CFA, is director of multi-asset ratings for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He is responsible for Morningstar’s multi-asset ratings methodology and shares responsibility for research priorities. Kephart leads the firm’s global and North American multi-asset ratings committees. Kephart regularly contributes to Morningstar’s thought leadership on target-date strategies, 60/40 portfolios, model portfolios, and other multi-asset outcome-based products. He has been the lead analyst for multi-asset strategies from firms such as Vanguard, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, and Dodge & Cox.

Before joining Morningstar in 2014, Kephart spent seven years as a journalist for InvestmentNews, Fund Action, and SmartMoney, reporting primarily on the mutual fund and exchange-traded fund industries.

Kephart holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Florida State University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Gabrielle DiBenedetto is a data journalist for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. She works to tell stories and create visualizations using Morningstar’s broad spectrum of data and research.

Before assuming her current role in 2018, DiBenedetto was a client-services representative for the Morningstar Direct and Morningstar Office platforms. Prior to that, she interned at Boston Magazine, covering startup companies and venture capital. She also interned on the business desk at the Wisconsin State Journal, covering local business development.

DiBenedetto holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Follow Gabrielle on Twitter: @gr_dibenedetto