Morningstar today unveiled the Morningstar PitchBook GenAI 20 Index, the first benchmark devoted exclusively to pure-play generative AI firms. The rules-based index tracks twenty leading companies through their transition from private funding rounds into the public markets, using PitchBook’s private markets database to identify innovators in machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision and agentic AI. By maintaining continuous coverage across the private-to-public lifecycle, the index aims to deliver consistent exposure to firms driving breakthroughs in AI productivity and business models. Investors gain a transparent framework to measure GenAI leadership and compare performance as the technology reshapes sectors from software development to decision-making tools.

Effective March 2, Morningstar will become the exclusive index provider for the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association’s Private Investor and Equity Risk Index Series. These benchmarks, in use since 1997 and 2019 respectively, comprise five composite indices each—covering equities, fixed income, real estate, cash and alternatives across Conservative, Income, Balanced, Growth and Global Growth risk profiles. Morningstar will rebrand the series as Morningstar PIMFA Investor Index Series and deliver ten years of historical data at launch. Quarterly rebalancing weights will continue to reflect member surveys of UK wealth managers’ model portfolios, under oversight of the PIMFA Indices Committee. The agreement underscores Morningstar’s deepening ties to the UK wealth management community and expands its footprint in multi-asset performance benchmarking.

The Morningstar Center for Retirement & Policy Studies has rolled out its 2026 Managed Accounts Research Series together with the Defined Contribution Outcomes Model (DCOM), a simulation framework analyzing the impact of managed accounts on workplace retirement plan outcomes. Leveraging millions of participant records across thousands of plans, the study finds managed accounts could boost median wealth-to-salary ratios at retirement by 5.9% for target-date fund investors, 11.4% for self-directed investors and 7.7% overall. Younger participants (ages 20–24) may see up to 22% gains, with those earning under $100,000 per year also benefiting most. Even plans with auto-enrollment and auto-escalation showed improved projected median retirement wealth in 92% of cases. The quarterly research series will next explore optimal plan features, alternative default architectures and modeling of the post-retirement phase.