Morningstar Says "Game On" to Helping Investors Make Sense of the Public-Private Market Reality
Top line
Morningstar launched the 'Game On' campaign to help investors navigate blending public and private markets using integrated data, ratings, indexes, and model portfolios.
Summary
Morningstar, Inc. has launched its 'Game On' U.S. brand campaign to help investors navigate the challenges of public and private markets converging within the same portfolios. Created in collaboration with Substance Collective, the initiative uses an 8-bit game metaphor to address market friction across four primary pillars: Data, Credit Ratings, Indexes, and Investments. By integrating PitchBook's private company intelligence, Morningstar Indexes' blended benchmarks, Morningstar DBRS credit evaluations, and Morningstar Wealth's partnership-based model portfolios, Morningstar aims to establish a transparent, common language for modern multi-asset investing.
Highlights
- Morningstar, Inc. launched a U.S. brand campaign titled 'Game On' on September 15, 2026, to address the blurring lines between public and private markets.
- Private companies are taking longer to go public, with their median age increasing by nearly 60% since 2014.
- Semiliquid funds reached nearly $600 billion in assets by March 2026, showing an increase with average expense ratios around 3%.
- The campaign was developed in partnership with Substance Collective and uses an 8-bit video game metaphor to visualize investor hurdles.
- Morningstar's initiative focuses on four core areas: Data, Credit Ratings, Indexes, and Investments.
- PitchBook provides data on over 13 million privately held companies and nearly 300,000 debt-financed companies globally.
- Morningstar Indexes introduced rules-based benchmarks, such as the Unicorn 30 Index and US Modern Market 100 Index, to track both public and late-stage private companies.
- Morningstar DBRS delivers independent public and private credit ratings to bring visibility to middle-market leverage and downside risk.
- Morningstar Wealth is partnering with Apollo, Franklin Templeton, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management to develop public and private model portfolios.
- Morningstar operates globally across 32 countries with approximately $375 billion in Assets Under Management and Advisement as of June 30, 2026.
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