Keeping Current

Did you know the Company Profile provides a good overview of a company with a single search?

The Profile database compiles key company data into a single report, including executives, insiders, recent filings, financials, and stock charts. In addition, the Company View drop-down menu provides access to additional content such as compensation tables, due diligence reports, and insider summaries.

To search, select Profile from the Database drop-down menu, and enter Company Name or Ticker in the Identifier:

Click on the Viewing drop-down menu to customize, save, and print the professionally-formatted report.

For more information about the Profile database, please refer to the Company Profile help document.

The SEC’s final rule on Mine Safety Disclosure becomes effective Friday, January 27th. It implements Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Act and requires public companies that are operators, or have a subsidiary that is an operator, of a coal or other mine to disclose certain information about mine health and safety matters in their annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. It also requires companies to file an 8-K when they receive certain notices and orders from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Final Rule

Question: What is beneficial ownership?

Answer: A beneficial owner is any individual or group of individuals that owns more than 5% of any class of shares of a company. Beneficial owners that have the power to influence the transactional decisions of a company must file a Schedule 13D. Owners that are passive investors file a Schedule 13G. Both filings can be searched in the Holdings Search database.

Do you have a question for the Librarian Relations Group? Please send your questions to documentresearch_librarians@morningstar.com. For more Ask A Librarian tips, click here.

Did you know Compare Documents is a great analytic tool for your research?

Premium and Professional subscribers can use this feature to easily identify differences between any two documents, such as original and amended filings.

On the Search Results page, select two documents using the checkboxes on the left. Click on the Tools drop-down menu and select Compare Documents:

A new window will open with a red-line version, which uses color and formatting to highlight any differences between the two documents:

Use the Compare drop-down menu to analyze just the body of a filing, only the exhibits, or both. To save a copy of the red-line version, select Workshare or PDF download from the Saving drop-down menu, or click on the Print icon.

For additional information about Compare Documents, please refer to the Navigation help document. To inquire about subscription options, contact Product Support at +1 800 365-4608 x 1 or documentresearch_support@morningstar.com.

Question: What are mutual fund classes?

Answer: Some mutual fund shares are offered in different classes, based upon how the fees and expenses are structured. Typically multi-class funds offer three classes: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Generally, Class A shares include a front-end load, meaning fees are paid at the time of the initial investment. Class B shares charge back-end fees, meaning fees are paid when the shares are sold. Class C shares are level-load, meaning the fees are spread out over the course of the investment. For more information about these and other fund share classes, click here.

Do you have a question for the Librarian Relations Group? Please send your questions to documentresearch_librarians@morningstar.com. For more Ask A Librarian tips, click here.

Did you know you can use the Holdings Search to learn about Corporate Insiders’ stock options, sales & purchases?

Insiders like company officers & directors are required to provide public notice when they buy or sell their company’s stock, or exercise stock options. Much of this information is reported on SEC Form 4, which must be filed within a few days of the transaction(s).

To search, select Holdings Search from the Database Search drop-down menu, then select Insider from the Search Type menu. Search criteria include Company Identifier, Filer Name, Share Information, Transaction Type, and Footnotes:

The Search Results page provides details about each transaction, even when several are reported on a single form.

For additional information about this search tool, please refer to the Holdings Search help document.

Question: Where can I find a company’s bylaws and articles of incorporation? And how can I determine when they are changed or updated?

Answer: Company bylaws and articles of incorporation are disclosed in Exhibit 3. If changes are made to bylaws or articles of incorporation, companies are required to file an 8-K Item 5.03. To find these changes, visit the Filings Search page, select 8-K Items under the Form Selection drop-down, and then select Item 5.03. To limit the search to a specific company, add Company Name or Ticker.

Do you have a question for the Librarian Relations Group? Please send your questions to documentresearch_librarians@morningstar.com. For more Ask A Librarian tips, click here.

Did you know the Show Keywords tool can speed up your research?

On the Search Results page, Show Keywords displays a snippet of each document with the Keywords highlighted. This allows you to quickly scan through the list and target the most useful results.

To use this tool, run a search with Keywords in any database, like Filings or Exhibits Search. On the Search Results page, click on the Viewing drop-down menu to confirm that Show Keywords is selected.

Each highlighted Keyword is hyper-linked to the full-text document. Simply click on any highlighted term to zoom to the page where the Keyword appears.

For additional information about this search tool, please refer to the Navigation help document.

Did you know you can use Filters to identify relevant filings and documents?

This feature allows you to generate results from companies that fit a certain profile, based upon headquarters location, exchange, industry, and/or various financial criteria.

For example, to generate a list of large software companies on the West Coast, use the Geography, Financial, and Industry filters on the Filings Search page:

Hint: use the Industry Lookup tool to view all options.  Select Industry groups or sub-groups from the list, then click SAVE:

Follow this link to view the search strategy & results list.  For more information about features like Search Filters, refer to the Filings Search help document.

SEC Approves New Listing Standards for Reverse Merger Companies

Read the full news release at: http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-235.htm.

Read the full news release at: http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-235.htm.