Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007 - 6

Contributors Dan Culloton Dan Culloton and the subject of his Undiscovered Manager profile, John Osterweis (page 43), have one thing in common: They’ve both run a marathon. Well, Osterweis has run many, including ultramarathons that go longer than the standard 26.2 miles. Culloton has run two. “I ran the first because I foolishly said in front of a bunch of people that I would try one before I turned 30,” Culloton, a senior mutual fund analyst, says. “I ran the second one because I foolishly wanted to improve my time after I turned 30.” He did, but he now sticks to swimming, light running, pickup basketball, and “lots of side-yard whiffle ball with my kids.” ability to concisely depict a complex subject, with a sense of humor. “We are always searching for unique ways to simplify complicated concepts in a fun, lighthearted matter,” Summers says. “We like to bring a bit of levity to the subject.” After graduating from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 2002, Summers and Kernevich designed posters for local bands as a side project. Soon, they were getting work from the likes of The New York Times, EMI Records, Random House, Esquire, and the band R.E.M., and a fulltime business was born. Kernevich resides in Philadelphia, where he also teaches at Philadelphia University; Summers lives with his wife and cat in Seattle. the first Morningstar Investment Conferences in the late 1980s, has been writing about finance, mutual funds, and insurance for two decades. He is a contributing editor of Financial Advisor magazine and a mutual fund columnist for the Journal of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. He and his wife, Gail Liberman, write about consumer banking and retirement for MarketWatch. The couple’s latest book is Quick Steps to Financial Stability (Que). Jeffrey Ptak Equity analyst Jeffrey Ptak writes about stocks for the magazine; he created the stock screen (page 60) and selected picks for Investments a la Carte (page 52). He and more than 100 other Morningstar stock analysts cover over 1,900 stocks spanning virtually all industries and many geographic locales. “Our philosophy stresses tried and true principles, such as the importance of paying a reasonable price, favoring firms that boast defensible competitive advantages, and investing for the long haul,” says Ptak, who covers the investment management and assetservicing industries. “We think our forward-looking, fundamentals-based approach to equity research could make a valuable addition to an advisor’s practice.” Laura Pavlenko Lutton In revising the methodology of the Morningstar Stewardship Grade (page 12), senior mutual fund analyst Laura Pavlenko Lutton led a committee of analysts who spent months debating ways to improve each of the five sections that compose the grade. “In the end,” she says, “the changes we agreed to were based primarily on the industry’s best governance practices. After all, if one firm can do a great job aligning its interests with those of shareholders, we think everybody can.” Lutton firmly believes that corporate governance should be a top factor to consider when choosing funds. “Any advisor who chooses a fund with both a strong investment process and Stewardship Grade should feel confident that the fund will serve clients well over the long term,” she says. Alan Lavine Veteran financial journalist Alan Lavine sees variable annuity sales suitability (page 22) as one of the most critical issues facing advisors today. “They must put clients’ needs ahead of their own financial needs,” he says. “Plus, advisors must analyze how a complex variable annuity fits into a client’s retirement income plan that includes other assets.” Meanwhile, the NASD is amending the rules. “There’s confusion in the marketplace about the exact rules and how to apply them,” he says. Lavine, who was a moderator at one of The Heads of State This issue’s cover and inside illustrations were created by The Heads of State, otherwise known as Jason Kernevich and Dusty Summers. We like The Heads of State because they have the 6 Morningstar Advisor Summer 2007

Morningstar Advisor - Summer 2007

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