Morningstar Acquires CRSP, Shaking Up the Index Industry

CHICAGO, IL – February 02, 2026 – Morningstar, Inc. has finalized its transformative $365 million acquisition of the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), a move that dramatically reshapes the competitive landscape for investment benchmarks. The deal, which transfers ownership of the prestigious data and index provider from the University of Chicago, is coupled with an extended agreement with investment giant Vanguard, cementing Morningstar's new role as a dominant force in the U.S. equity index market.

The acquisition brings CRSP's market indexes, which serve as the benchmark for over $3 trillion in U.S. equities, into the Morningstar Indexes family. This integration, along with CRSP's highly respected historical data products, positions the Chicago-based financial services firm to directly challenge the "big three" of indexing: S&P Dow Jones Indices, MSCI, and FTSE Russell.

A Strategic Leap into the Big Leagues

Before this acquisition, Morningstar's indexing unit was a relatively modest player, with its indexes tracking approximately $228 billion in assets. The addition of CRSP catapults the firm into a new weight class. With the combined entity now boasting over $4.2 trillion in linked assets across more than 370 investment products, Morningstar is no longer just a participant but a market leader in U.S. equity benchmarks.

This move is a deliberate and aggressive strategy to upend the status quo. Morningstar has been vocal about its intentions to leverage this new scale to compete on value and transparency.

“The addition of CRSP furthers our efforts to disrupt the costly, entrenched index industry with indexes that deliver more value at global scale to benefit investors,” said Amelia Furr, president of Morningstar Indexes, in a statement. “By working together with Vanguard, Morningstar Indexes will continue to serve as the foundation for some of the world's largest funds and advance low-cost investing for millions of investors.”

The financial implications are significant. Based on 2024 data, the combined Morningstar Indexes unit is projected to generate approximately $139.7 million in annual revenue, making the index business a more substantial contributor to Morningstar's overall financial health. The company plans to rebrand the CRSP indexes under the Morningstar name, fully integrating them into its product family and presenting a unified front to the market.

The Vanguard Seal of Approval

Arguably the most critical component of the deal is the renewed partnership with Vanguard. The asset management behemoth's decision to continue using CRSP indexes—now under Morningstar's stewardship—for a range of its flagship funds provides a powerful endorsement and ensures immediate, large-scale stability for the newly acquired assets.

Vanguard's relationship with CRSP has deep roots, most notably marked by its 2012 decision to transition 22 U.S. stock and balanced funds from MSCI benchmarks to CRSP. That move was driven by a core Vanguard tenet: lowering costs for investors. CRSP's unique, academically rigorous methodology was not only more cost-effective to license but was also shown to reduce transaction costs within the funds themselves.

This philosophy continues under the new ownership structure. The agreement secures the foundation for some of the world's largest and most popular funds, including the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX and VTI).

“Our agreement with Morningstar reinforces our steadfast commitment to delivering low costs, broad diversification and strong performance for investors,” stated Rodney Comegys, CIO of Vanguard Capital Management. “The academically rigorous methodology of the CRSP indexes provides a world-class foundation for long-term success, empowering clients to pursue their investment goals with confidence.”

For millions of retail investors and retirement savers, this continuity means that the low-cost, broadly diversified funds they rely on will remain unchanged in their fundamental construction. It's a validation that echoes the sentiment of the late Vanguard founder Jack Bogle, who favored CRSP indexes for their comprehensive "total market" coverage.

More Than an Index: A Data Powerhouse Emerges

Beyond the multi-trillion-dollar benchmarks, the acquisition brings one of the crown jewels of financial data into the Morningstar ecosystem: CRSP's Research Data Products. Established in 1960, CRSP was created to provide the first comprehensive, research-quality historical database of U.S. stock market data.

For decades, this data has been the bedrock of academic finance, underpinning a vast majority of research on asset pricing, market efficiency, and risk modeling. Its reputation for "academic rigor, historical depth and accuracy" is unparalleled.

By integrating this powerful data asset, Morningstar significantly strengthens its own research and analytics capabilities. This move is about more than just managing indexes; it's about owning the foundational data that drives sophisticated investment strategies and financial research. This enhancement will benefit a wide array of Morningstar clients, from institutional investors and asset managers to financial technology firms looking for high-quality data feeds.

The University of Chicago, in parting with CRSP, framed the deal as a way for the research center to expand its commercial opportunities beyond its academic roots while securing its future. For Morningstar, it's a strategic fusion of commercial scale and academic integrity, creating a more formidable data and analytics engine that can power a new generation of investment tools and insights. The integration of the CRSP team into Morningstar's operations ensures this deep-seated expertise will continue to drive innovation within the combined entity.