Morningstar's Private Credit Assets Projected to Reach $4.9 Trillion by 2029

By Hao Liu • Sunday, June 29 15:32 • Permanent Link

Morningstar, Inc. recently released answers to selected investor questions, providing insights into the company's performance and outlook. Here are the key takeaways from the responses:

Private Credit: In 2024, private debt assets under management totaled approximately $3.3 trillion, with a projected growth to $4.9 trillion by 2029. Morningstar's ratings-related revenue from private transactions increased in 2024, indicating continued growth opportunities. The company is expanding its private credit capabilities across multiple client segments, with a particular focus on Pitchbook, Morningstar Credit, and the direct platform.

Morningstar Direct Platform: The organic revenue growth rate for the Morningstar Direct Platform slowed from 8.0% in 2022 to 5.8% in 2024. The slowdown was attributed to flat-to-declining revenue trends for non-core products and slower growth in certain core products. Factors contributing to the deceleration included slower license growth, the loss of a large research distribution client, pricing challenges, and the impact of de-emphasized products. The company is now focusing on executing growth opportunities in its core products within the Morningstar Direct Platform.

Sales Breakdown: In 2024, the advisor and wealth manager customer segment accounted for over 40% of total Morningstar Direct Platform revenue, while asset managers accounted for over 35%. Alliances and redistributors contributed to less than 15% of the revenue, with the remainder associated with retirement market participants and other smaller segments.

Direct Product Licenses: The direct product licenses in the U.S. remained relatively flat between 2021 and 2024 due to factors such as a larger-than-typical price increase, mergers and acquisitions activity, and workforce reductions at some larger clients. However, the addition of new smaller asset managers and private wealth clients partially offset the stagnation in license counts.

Market Opportunity: Morningstar does not disclose a specific total addressable market (TAM) figure for the Morningstar Direct Platform but emphasized its focus on evaluating the size and potential of the markets it serves. The company sees ample room for growth, with approximately $44.3 billion in global spend on financial data and analysis in 2024.

Morningstar Credit: The company responded to a question regarding the impact of increased scrutiny from the NAIC Securities Valuation Office (SVO) on its business. Morningstar noted that the NAIC retracted a report in 2025 due to data quality issues and did not directly comment on its competitors' ratings methodologies.

These responses provide investors with detailed insights into Morningstar's performance and strategies across various segments, shedding light on the company's revenue drivers, challenges, and market opportunities. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 0.8% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $313.01. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.