Director of Product Strategy, Individual Investor, U.S.
The Group: The Individual Investor business unit at Morningstar creates great products that help individual investors meet their financial goals. Our ambition is to be a trusted, lifelong partner to individual investors, helping them confidently accomplish their investing jobs. We serve investors directly through our branded experiences focusing on utility, speed, delight and differentiation. These investors actively monitor their investment portfolios, and they research markets and new investments. Additionally, they seek the empowerment and investment independence that Morningstar provides for them, and they find investing enjoyable.
The Role: Director of Individual Investor Product Strategy (U.S.): Reporting to the Head of the Individual Investor (U.S.) business unit, the Director of Individual Investor Product Strategy (U.S.) is the leading subject matter expert for our business. You will execute a strategy identifying needs of retail investors to buy and sell investments, set investment goals, and manage their portfolios. You will also develop product strategy for our core direct-to-consumer business lines in the U.S. The ideal candidate must have familiarity with portfolio management practices as well as tools and services investors use to select, manage and monitor their investment portfolios. Additionally, you will collaborate with product owners and designers to define product requirements. You will be a core member of the leadership team for the U.S. Individual Investor business. This position is based in our Chicago office.
Responsibilities
- Own product strategy and provide leadership for overall product vision
- Act as subject matter expert for Morningstar’s investment research methodology and data, providing both education and direction to the Individual Investor (U.S.) business
- Create knowledge platform and training plans so that all team members can best understand how our customers should use research and tools to select investments, set goals, and manage their portfolios.
- Communicate product strategy and capabilities to the business unit and other stakeholders
- Research and create business and product plans to communicate product strategies in collaboration with Product/Design/Marketing Teams and Head of Business
- Collaborate closely with Product, Design and Marketing to build empathy for target customer segments
- Connect with engaged investors; intimately understand their important/unmet investing needs
- Launching new products that align with the current “freemium” model
- Foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration and constructive debate
Requirements
- Extensive experience developing and analyzing investment strategies, with particular focus on individuals, both directly and through advisors
- Direct experience as an advisor or working with advisors that manage client portfolios and financial plans.
- Experienced investment leader (12+ years) with 7+ years of product management experience and a user-focused mindset
- Skilled communicator, comfortable with delivering presentations and providing clear written communication
- Competitive, high-performance leader who has a track record of delivering business results
- Strategic and analytical thinker
- Deep understanding of Morningstar investing methodologies and capabilities
- Strong oral and written presentation skills
- Natural collaborator
- Bachelor’s degree; MBA, CFA, or other advanced degree/accreditation is strongly preferred