October 22, 2010 (FinancialWire) (http://www.financialwire.net/) — Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a provider of investment research, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the annuity intelligence business of Advanced Sales and Marketing Corp.

Morningstar said it expects to complete the transaction in the next few weeks. The purchase price is $14.1 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.

One of ASMC's two product lines, the Annuity Intelligence Report, is a web-based service that helps broker-dealers, insurers, and the financial professionals they support better understand and more effectively present variable annuity products to their clients.

The service leverages a proprietary database of more than 1,000 variable annuities that includes "plain-English" translations of complex but important information found in prospectuses and other public filings.

The annuity intelligence business serves 170 firms, including broker-dealers, banks, advisory firms, and insurance companies. More than 150,000 financial advisors have access to the AI Report through these firms.  

ASMC also offers the MaxPlan wholesaler productivity system, a business planning and territory management tool for mutual fund and annuity distributors, which Morningstar is not acquiring.

Illinois-based Morningstar is a provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

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