We believe high conviction investing and diverse perspectives lead to better results.
Investing in today's complex financial environment requires a significant commitment. Many Financial Advisors often have insufficient time or the experience to make the many decisions necessary to properly manage an investment portfolio. That is why Vaults Private Wealth teams directly with Morningstar Investment Services to provide our clients professional portfolio management. Vaults Private Wealth offers investment programs designed to provide high-quality transparent investing, plus full-time money management services aligned with your individual risk number.
Supervision
Portfolio construction and ongoing monitoring and maintenance of the portfolios are provided by the Investment Team noted below. The Investment Team members are investment professional representatives of Morningstar Investment Management LLC, who are acting on Morningstar Investment Services’ behalf. The Investment Team conducts aspects of the investment process, including asset allocation, portfolio construction, risk management, security selection, and monitoring.
The activities of the investment team are guided by the Global Investment Policy Committee, the Americas Investment Policy Committee. The Global Investment Policy Committee and its regional governance bodies are responsible for oversight of the investment methodologies. The regional governance bodies, which include regional investment policy committees, asset allocation committees, manager selection committees and portfolio construction (peer review) committees, focus on specific investment capabilities such as valuation models and asset allocation, manager selection, portfolio construction and portfolio and risk analytics.
Daniel Needham, CFA President & Chief Investment Officer,
Investment Management
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Needham oversees all investment functions within Morningstar Investment Management in addition to overseeing the investment management of the International Equity ADR strategy. Mr. Needham provides guidance on the type of strategies offered and the nature of the due diligence conducted. He oversees the Investment Team and sets the strategic direction and goals of the portfolio management. Please see the Select Equity Portfolios section for his full educational background and business experience.
Asset Allocation and Outcome-Based/Focused Portfolios
Philip Straehl Head of Capital Markets and Asset Allocation
Supervisor: Daniel Needham
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Straehl was born in 1984, holds his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland and a
master’s degree in business administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in analytic finance and economics.
Mr. Straehl oversees the capital markets research and chairs the asset allocation committee. Since joining Morningstar Investment Management in 2007, he has been a portfolio manager and senior research consultant responsible for managing asset allocation portfolios.
Dan McNeela, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager,
Co-Head of Target Risk Strategies
Supervisor: Daniel Needham
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. McNeela was born in 1965, holds a BS in finance from Indiana University and an MBA from the University of Illinois. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. McNeela oversees the investment management of the asset allocation portfolios. He has been with the Investment Team since April 2015. Since 2006 he has been an investment consultant for Morningstar Investment Management. Prior to that, he was a mutual fund analyst for Morningstar, Inc. and served as associate director of fund analysis and editor of Morningstar Mutual Funds, Morningstar’s flagship print publication.
Marta Norton, CFA Portfolio Manager
Head of Outcome-Based Strategies
Supervisor: Daniel Needham
Educational Background and Business Experience
Ms. Norton was born in 1980, holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Illinois, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Ms. Norton oversees the investment management the outcomebased/ focused portfolios. She has been part of the Investment Team since October 2008. Prior to joining, she was a senior mutual fund analyst for Morningstar, Inc.’s fund analyst team. Ms. Norton also led the Morningstar 529 college savings plans coverage and was the lead analyst on long-short funds, small-value funds, and telecom funds. Before joining Morningstar in 2005, Ms. Norton was an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a research analyst at LECG, LLC.
Brian Huckstep, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager,
Co-Head of Target-Risk Strategies
Supervisor: Daniel Needham
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Huckstep was born in 1970, holds his BA in economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Huckstep oversees the investment management the asset allocation portfolios. Since 2005, he has been a portfolio manager for Morningstar Investment Management. Prior to that, Mr. Huckstep was the director of data acquisition for Morningstar, Inc.
Select Equity Portfolios
John Owens, CFA Senior Portfolio Manager,
Head of Equity Strategies
Portfolio Lead: Global Equity & Small/Mid-Cap Equity
Supervisor: Daniel Needham
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Owens was born in 1971; he holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant** (CPA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Owens oversees the investment management of the select equity portfolios and leads the management of the All-Cap Equity and Small/Mid-Cap Equity strategies. He has been part of the Investment Team since January 2009. Prior to joining, Mr. Owens was a senior equity analyst and investing specialist in Morningstar, Inc.’s equity research department. Before joining Morningstar in January 2005, Mr. Owens spent five years as a consultant in capital advisory and corporate restructuring, two years as the chief operating officer at Sandefer Capital Partners (a private equity investment firm), and three years as an auditor for Coopers & Lybrand.
Michael Corty, CFA Portfolio Manager
Portfolio Lead: Equity Income & Tortoise
Supervisor: John Owens
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Corty was born in 1973; he holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and a MBA from Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Corty oversees the investment management of the Equity Income and Tortoise strategies. He has been part of the Investment Team since December 2013. Prior to joining, Mr. Corty was a senior equity analyst in Morningstar, Inc.’s equity research department. Before joining Morningstar in April 2004, Mr. Corty spent two years as a senior loan analyst for Bank of America and three years as an auditor at Arthur Andersen.
Matthew Coffina, CFA Portfolio Manager
Portfolio Lead: Capital Appreciation & Hare
Supervisor: John Owens
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Coffina was born in 1985; he holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Oberlin College. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Coffina oversees the investment management of the Capital Appreciation and Hare strategies. He has been part of the Investment Team since July 2016. In addition to his investment management responsibilities, Mr. Coffina has been the editor of the Morningstar® StockInvestorSM newsletter since Jan. 2013. StockInvestor focuses on portfolios Morningstar, Inc. has that are invested in accordance with the Tortoise and Hare strategies. Prior to that, Mr. Coffina was a senior equity analyst in Morningstar, Inc.’s equity research department. He joined Morningstar in July 2007.
Michael Hodel, CFA Portfolio Manager
Portfolio Lead: Dividend
Supervisor: John Owens
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Hodel was born in 1976; he holds a bachelor's degree with Highest Honors from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign where he majored in Finance and a MBA with High Honors from the University of Chicago. Mr. Hodel is also a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Hodel oversees the investment management of the Dividend strategy (both taxable and qualified). He joined the Investment Team in November 2016. In addition to his investment management responsibilities, Mr. Hodel is the editor of the Morningstar® DividendInvestorSM newsletter. DividendInvestor focuses on portfolios owned by Morningstar, Inc. that are invested in accordance with the Dividend strategy. Prior to joining the Investment Team, he was Chair of the Moat Committee and an Equity Strategist with Morningstar, Inc. Mr. Hodel also held positions as Associate Director of Credit Research, Associate Director of Research, and Equity Analyst for Morningstar, Inc. Mr. Hodel first joined Morningstar as an equity data analyst in 1998.
Daniel Needham, CFA President & Chief Investment Officer,
Investment Management
Portfolio Lead: Foreign Equity
Educational Background and Business Experience
Mr. Needham was born in 1978; he holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Sydney, where he majored in finance and economics. Mr. Needham is also a Chartered Financial Analyst* (CFA) charterholder.
Mr. Needham oversees the investment management of the International Equity ADR strategy. He has been part of the Investment Team since July 2016 but assumed his role of president and chief investment officer for Morningstar Investment Management in 2015. Prior to assuming his current role, Mr. Needham was global chief investment officer for the Investment Management group. Prior to that, Mr. Needham was chief investment officer and managing director for Investment Management in Asia-Pacific. He joined Morningstar in 2009 through the acquisition of Intech Pty Ltd, where he served as the chief investment officer. Before joining Intech, he worked for Zurich Financial Services in Sydney.
* The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is an international professional certification offered by the CFA Institute. To become a CFA charterholder, candidates must pass three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor’s degree, and have 48 months of qualified, professional work experience. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards governing their professional conduct. The CFA is a qualification for finance and investment professionals, particularly in the fields of investment management and financial analysis of stocks, bonds and their derivative assets. The program focuses on portfolio management and financial analysis, and provides a general knowledge of other areas of finance.
** Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA. To achieve this designation, an individual usually has to complete 5 years of education and a certain degree of work experience. Additionally, once an individual becomes a CPA, they typically must complete a certain number of hours of continuing education each year.