EX-97 8 morn_exhibitx97x12312023.htm EX-97 Document

Exhibit 97
MORNINGSTAR, INC.
DODD-FRANK POLICY ON RECOUPMENT OF INCENTIVE COMPENSATION

Introduction

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Morningstar, Inc. (the “Company”) has adopted this Dodd-Frank Policy on Recoupment of Incentive Compensation (this “Policy”), which provides for the recoupment of compensation in certain circumstances in the event of a restatement of financial results by the Company. This Policy shall be interpreted to comply with the requirements of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) listing standards implementing Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and, to the extent this Policy is in any manner deemed inconsistent with such rules, this Policy shall be treated as retroactively amended to be compliant with such rules.

Administration

This Policy shall be administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”). Any determinations made by the Compensation Committee shall be final and binding on all affected individuals. The Compensation Committee is authorized to interpret and construe this Policy and to make all determinations necessary, appropriate or advisable for the administration of this Policy, in all cases consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act. The Board or Compensation Committee may amend this Policy from time to time in its discretion.

Covered Executives
This Policy applies to any current or former “executive officer,” within the meaning of Rule 10D-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company (each such individual, an “Executive”). This Policy shall be binding and enforceable against all Executives and their beneficiaries, executors, administrators, and other legal representatives.

Recoupment Upon Financial Restatement

If the Company is required to prepare an accounting restatement due to the material noncompliance of the Company with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws, including any required accounting restatement to correct an error in previously issued financial statements that is material to the previously issued financial statements, or that would result in a material misstatement if the error were corrected in the current period or left uncorrected in the current period (a “Financial Restatement”), the Compensation Committee shall cause the Company to recoup from each Executive, as promptly as reasonably possible, any erroneously awarded Incentive-Based Compensation, as defined below.

No-Fault Recovery

Recoupment under this Policy shall be required regardless of whether the Executive or any other person was at fault or responsible for accounting errors that contributed to the need for the Financial Restatement or engaged in any misconduct.

Compensation Subject to Recovery; Enforcement

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This Policy applies to all compensation granted, earned or vested (including, but not limited to, performance-based cash, stock, market stock units, options or other equity-based awards paid or granted to the Executive) based wholly or in part upon the attainment of any financial reporting measure determined and presented in accordance with the accounting principles used in preparing the Company’s financial statements, and any measure that is derived wholly or in part from such measures, whether or not presented within the Company’s financial statements or included in a filing with the SEC, including, but not limited to, adjusted revenue, adjusted EBITDA, stock price and total shareholder return (“TSR”) (“Incentive-Based Compensation”). Compensation that is granted, vests or is earned based solely upon the occurrence of non-financial events, including, but not limited to, base salary, restricted stock units or options with time-based vesting, or a bonus awarded solely at the discretion of the Board or Compensation Committee and not based on the attainment of any financial measure is not subject to this Policy.

In the event of a Financial Restatement, the amount to be recovered will be the excess of (i) the Incentive-Based Compensation received by the Executive during the Recovery Period (as defined below), based on the erroneous data and calculated without regard to any taxes paid or withheld, over (ii) the Incentive-Based Compensation that would have been received by the Executive had it been calculated based on the restated financial information, as determined by the Compensation Committee.

For purposes of this Policy, “Recovery Period” means the three completed fiscal years immediately preceding the date on which the Company is required to prepare the Financial Restatement, as determined in accordance with the last sentence of this paragraph, or any transition period that results from a change in the Company’s fiscal year (as set forth in Section 5608(b)(i)(D) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules). The date on which the Company is required to prepare a Financial Restatement is the earlier to occur of (A) the date the Board or a Board committee (or authorized officers of the Company if Board action is not required) concludes, or reasonably should have concluded, that the Company is required to prepare a Financial Restatement or (B) the date a court, regulator, or other legally authorized body directs the Company to prepare a Financial Restatement.

For Incentive-Based Compensation based on stock price or TSR, where the amount of erroneously awarded compensation is not subject to mathematical recalculation directly from the information in the Financial Restatement, then the Compensation Committee shall determine the amount to be recovered based on a reasonable estimate of the effect of the Financial Restatement on the stock price or TSR upon which the Incentive-Based Compensation was received and the Company shall document the determination of that estimate and provide it to Nasdaq.

Incentive-Based Compensation is considered to have been received by an Executive in the fiscal year during which the applicable financial reporting measure was attained or purportedly attained, even if the payment or grant of such Incentive-Based Compensation occurs after the end of that period.

The Company may use any legal or equitable remedies that are available to the Company to recoup any erroneously awarded Incentive-Based Compensation, including but not limited to by collecting from the Executive cash payments or shares of Company common stock from or by forfeiting any amounts that the Company owes to the Executive.

In addition to the foregoing, in the event that an Executive Officer fails to repay or reimburse erroneously awarded compensation that is subject to recovery, the Committee may require an Executive Officer to reimburse the Company for any and all expenses reasonably incurred (including legal fees) by the Company in recovering erroneously awarded compensation under this Policy.

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No Indemnification

The Company shall not indemnify any Executive or pay or reimburse the premium for any insurance policy to cover any losses incurred by such Executive under this Policy.

Notwithstanding the terms of any indemnification or insurance policy or any contractual arrangement with any Executive Officer that may be interpreted to the contrary, the Company shall not indemnify any Executive Officer against the loss of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation.  No Executive Officer shall receive any advancement of expenses for disputes related to any loss of compensation by such person in accordance with this Policy, and no person shall be paid or reimbursed by the Company Group for any premiums paid by such person for any third-party insurance policy covering potential recovery obligations under this Policy. For this purpose, “indemnification” includes any modification to current compensation arrangements or other means that would amount to de facto indemnification (for example, providing the person a new cash award which would be cancelled to effect the recovery of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation). In no event shall the Company Group be required to award any person an additional payment if any Restatement would result in a higher incentive compensation payment.


Exceptions

The compensation recouped under this Policy shall not include Incentive-Based Compensation received by an Executive (i) prior to beginning service as an Executive or (ii) if he or she did not serve as an Executive at any time during the performance period applicable to the Incentive-Based Compensation in question. The Compensation Committee (or a majority of independent directors serving on the Board) may determine not to seek recovery from an Executive in whole or part to the extent it determines in its sole discretion that such recovery would be impracticable because (A) the direct expense paid to a third party to assist in enforcing recovery would exceed the recoverable amount (after having made a reasonable attempt to recover the erroneously awarded Incentive-Based Compensation and providing corresponding documentation of such attempt to Nasdaq), (B) recovery would violate the home country law that was adopted prior to November 28, 2022, as determined by an opinion of counsel licensed in the applicable jurisdiction that is acceptable to and provided to Nasdaq, or (C) recovery would likely cause the Company’s 401(k) plan or any other tax-qualified retirement plan to fail to meet the requirements of Section 401(a)(13) or Section 411(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations thereunder.

Other Remedies Not Precluded

The exercise by the Compensation Committee of any rights pursuant to this Policy shall be without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that the Company, the Board or the Compensation Committee may have with respect to any Executive subject to this Policy. Rights of recoupment under this Policy are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedies, rights, or requirements regarding the clawback or recoupment of any compensation under any other policy of the Company; provided, however, that any amounts clawed back or recouped under any other policy that would be recoupable under this Policy will count toward any required recoupment under this Policy and vice versa.

Effective Date and Applicability

This Policy has been adopted by the Board on October 6, 2023 and shall apply to any Incentive-Based Compensation that is received by an Executive on or after October 2, 2023.

                                    
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