Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced that Jean-Francois Bay has been named chief executive officer of Morningstar France. Bay, co-founder and chief executive officer of Seeds Finance and Multiratings, joined Morningstar when it acquired Seeds in July. Seeds is a leading provider of investment consulting services and fund research.
Bevin Desmond, president of Morningstar’s international operations, said, “Jean-Francois is a talented executive who has a long history of success running Seeds Finance. France is an important strategic market for Morningstar, and Jean-Francois is the ideal person to lead both our existing fund research and data business as well as the consulting and research business we acquired through Seeds.”
“I am honored to be taking on this broader role within Morningstar,” Bay said. “Morningstar has been operating in the French market for many years and has built an excellent brand and reputation for serving investors. I’m excited about the opportunity to direct the company’s operations in this growing market.”
Morningstar has approximately 45 employees based in Paris. Bay’s management team includes Ludovic Jouvray, head of operations; Emmanuel Bordes, head of sales; and Vianney Dubois, head of consulting.
Morningstar offers several products and services for French investors, advisors, and institutions, including Morningstar® Licensed Data; Morningstar DirectSM, the firm’s institutional research platform; Morningstar® EnCorr®, a software tool for advanced asset allocation research; and Morningstar® Workstation software for advanced fund performance analysis. It also operates a website for investors