Don Phillips is a managing director for Morningstar. He joined the company in 1986 as its first mutual fund analyst and soon became editor of its flagship print publication, Morningstar® Mutual Funds™, establishing the editorial voice for which the company is best known. He helped to develop the Morningstar Style Box™, the Morningstar Rating™, and other distinctive, proprietary Morningstar innovations that have become industry standards. Phillips has served in a variety of leadership roles at Morningstar, most recently head of global Research, before paring back his schedule to take on a part-time, non-management role. He has served on Morningstar’s board of directors since 1999, and he also serves on the board of directors for Morningstar Japan. Phillips holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas and a master's degree from the University of Chicago.
Don Phillips
Don Phillips is a managing director with Morningstar.
More From Don Phillips
Reflections from managing director Don Phillips as the company marks 40 years.
With Thematic Funds, a Tempered Approach Is the Best Bet
Investors can win big if they catch a trend at just the right time. But they can lose big, too.
Will Anti-ESG Forces Undermine What Made American Mutual Funds Great?
Individual investors and asset managers need to band together to combat this growing threat.
Investing Is No Laughing Matter
Crypto’s promoters ignore the serious side of investing.
The Four Horsemen of Investing
Corral these risks to improve the odds of investor success.
A Better Case for ESG
Dedication to a cause might improve investor returns.
An ATM in Today’s Slot-Machine World
Annuities are a path for investors who want to achieve security, not play games.
Are ESG and Private Equity Competing Ideologies?
This potentially contentious intersection will likely be the focus of some of the most heated investment debates of the next decade.
The Next Great Extinction in Asset Management
Asset managers are adapting for a new generation.
A Healthy Case for Sector Funds
The right investment can help investors meet long-term goals.
The Wisdom of Sages
Be humble, be alert, and stay the course.
No Failure Like Success
More talent on a level playing field means fewer winners.
That Old Demon Debt
Easy money is an addiction we must curtail.
Great to Good
Asset management firms enter a whole new world.
The Soft Side of Planning
Independent advisors transformed an industry by putting client needs first.
What a Single Data Point Can - and Can't - Provide
Successful investing is about accumulated insights, not panaceas, writes Morningstar's Don Phillips.
The ESG Revolution
Investors, acting as owners, demand to be heard.
The Fund World’s Achilles' Heel
Most of the industry’s worst moments involve fixed-income funds.
The Rise of Non-Investment Advisors
Removal from the investment process is nearly complete.
The Utility of Grades
The star rating creates the incentives we all want fund managers to have.
Alternative Funds Are in a Time Warp
These innovative strategies are actually behind the times, writes Morningstar’s Don Phillips.
You Get What You Measure
Better standards align manager incentives with shareholder interests.
The Triple Cost Threat: Retirement, Education, and Healthcare
The costs of three of the biggest concerns of American adults have skyrocketed. Can the financial markets help?
The Wall Street Journal's Statistical Fog
Morningstar Ratings help push the needle in the right direction for investors, writes Don Phillips.
Indexing in America: Why It Took Root Here
Tocqueville laid out why Americans, sooner than any other nation, would prove apt to embrace indexing 150 years later.
Investors Need More Guidance, Not More Products
Investors want simplicity; meanwhile, the fund industry keeps creating mazes, writes Morningstar's Don Phillips.
Slow Progress on a Very Long Arc for Female Fund Managers
Women make small gains in an industry that needs them, writes Morningstar's Don Phillips.
The Things You Can Control
Five areas advisors should focus on today.
Time to Rethink Emerging Markets?
As emerging markets look more like the rest of the world, they may not provide the same diversification benefits they once did, writes Morningstar's Don Phillips.
The Investment Industry's Civil Wars
The mutual fund industry fights many battles, but is it losing the war?