Morningstar, Inc. has agreed to purchase the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) from the University of Chicago for $375 million.

The University of Chicago and Morningstar, Inc. have announced an agreement for Morningstar to acquire the CRSP, a UChicago-affiliated institution known for its historical market and returns data. 

The University of Chicago has produced some of the finest minds in the fields of finance and economics, and is considered a leading institution in the field, with the neoclassical "Chicago School" pioneered by UChicago economists. 

Valued at $375 million, the acquisition marks a significant step for CRSP, established over 65 years ago to support research in the field of finance. This transaction will enable CRSP's survival in the face of pressure on academic budgets in the US, instead setting it on a more commercially-aligned path as it increasingly engages in the investment sector, allowing it to further develop its stock indexes. 

Morningstar intends to capitalise on CRSP’s extensive data validation and indexing methodologies, bolstering its commitment to providing high-quality investment tools to clients. The deal is projected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, and funds generated will support ongoing education and research initiatives at UChicago. 

"The acquisition will enable CRSP to explore additional commercial opportunities beyond its academic roots," said Madhav Rajan, dean of Chicago Booth and chair of CRSP’s Board of Directors. 

Kunal Kapoor, Morningstar's CEO, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the potential for innovative investment strategies derived from CRSP’s resources. In a press release, Morningstar describe CRSP as the "premier provider of historical stock market data and indexes". Emphasising the CRSP market indexes as the benchmarks for "more than $3 trillion in US equities", Morningstar predicts that the move will catapult "it to one of the largest index providers for public US equity index funds".

The news comes after a recent announcement by Paul Alivisatos, UChicago President, about cost-cutting measures at the University. In this, he communicated that the university is scaling back new building projects, reducing the number of doctoral positions, pausing some master's programs, assessing "certain long-term research outlays" and closing "some of the more than 140 centers and institutes that have grown and grown over time without sufficient periodic review".

In this context, the sale of CRSP to Morningstar, as an alternative to closure, may well come as a relief to the staff and faculty employed at the center.

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