Senior Quantitative Investment Analyst

The Role

Morningstar Direct’s Analytics Department is hiring for its quantitative research team and looking for a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, creative, and results-driven individual with 5+ years of experience in equity research or quantitative finance to join us. The team’s mandate is rooted in equity research excellence: to develop and enhance the rigorous financial methodologies that underpin Morningstar’s equity ratings and investment analytics. Its work is fundamentally finance-first — devising valuation frameworks and factor models, strengthening our equity research process, and building tools that empower our 100+ equity analysts and the institutional clients who rely on their insights.

Responsibilities

• Pursue a deep understanding of Morningstar’s equity methodologies, analyst workflows, data requirements, and client needs.
• Partner with equity research, equity data, and clients globally to identify areas where we might apply quantitative methods to benefit our analyst teams and customers.
• Independently develop and refine quantitative valuation frameworks, factor models, and screening methodologies that strengthen Morningstar’s equity research process and analyst capabilities.
• Rigorously back-test and validate quantitative investment models, evaluating their predictive power, financial relevance, and robustness across market cycles.
• Partner with model validation and engineering teams to productionize research outputs; programming proficiency (Python preferred) is expected, but serves the research, not the other way around.
• Create detailed specification documents and client-facing white papers.
• Communicate clear and concise project status information to key stakeholders, including the Morningstar product teams and clients.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree is required; Finance, Economics, or Accounting strongly preferred; Computer Science or Statistics considered when paired with demonstrable investment knowledge.
• CFA charter holder or active CFA candidate strongly preferred; demonstrated commitment to investment excellence is a key differentiator.
• Working proficiency in Python or equivalent quantitative tools; financial domain expertise and investment intuition take priority over pure programming depth.
• Familiarity with quantitative research tools and openness to applying emerging analytical techniques — including AI-assisted research — to investment problems.
• Deep understanding of equity valuation, fundamental analysis, and the investment research process; genuine passion for markets and the interplay between quantitative signals and financial judgment.
• More than 5 years of experience in investment research, equity analysis, or quantitative finance within an asset management, sell-side, or financial data context.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and succinctly. Strong analytical and logical reasoning skills. Effective time management skills.
• Comfortable taking the initiative and working without detailed guidance or supervision. Proactive and positive attitude, and a team player.

Compensation And Benefits

Morningstar believes in supporting the health and wellness of its employees. We offer a comprehensive range of programs designed to support all stages of your personal and professional life. These include:

• Financial Health: 100% 401k match up to 6% of salary.
• Stock Ownership Potential.
• Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission.
• Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually for specific plans and coverages).
• Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annually.
• Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance.
• Emotional Health: Trust-Based Time Off, 6-week Paid Sabbatical Program, 6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave, Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Leave, Adoption Assistance.
• Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities.
• Annual Flex Stipend - $1000 annually to cover personal education & well-being expenses.
• Tuition Reimbursement.
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program.
• Paid volunteering days.
• 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups.

Total Cash Compensation Range: $114,100.00-167,350.00 Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive.

Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week.