Fellowes will also continue to lead HelloWallet, a provider of personalized financial guidance that Morningstar acquired last year.

Joe Mansueto, chairman and CEO of Morningstar, said, "We have a long history of innovation and entrepreneurialism, with products that support more than 10 million investors around the world. Many people are responsible for innovation at Morningstar. Matt's role is to bring it all together by working with our leaders to make sure we're continuing to nurture a culture of innovation, facilitate product idea generation, and swiftly move on promising initiatives.

Fellowes said, "With more investors in the market than at any other point in history, Morningstar's mission to create great products that help investors reach their financial goals has never been more important. We see broad new opportunities in the market from the disruption caused by advancements in data and technology and shifts in consumer behavior and demographics. I'm excited about my new role, which is to help deepen the work we do for existing clients and expand our reach to help even more investors achieve better outcomes."

Before founding HelloWallet in 2009, he was a fellow at The Brookings Institution, a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions.

Fellowes holds a doctorate in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University, and a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Lawrence University. He was named one of the 100 Game Changers by The Huffington Post in 2010 and a Tech Titan by the Washingtonian in 2013. That same year, HelloWallet won a Webby for the best financial services software.