Just to provide background for my question here is the article i was asked to read and repsond to:

Many individuals find stocks and bonds to be confusing, but Joe Mansueto has begun to change that by making investing easier to understand. In 1984, Mansueto founded Morningstar Inc., which provides independent investment research to individuals, financial advisors, and institutional advisors. The company's top asset is that it is independent and its assessments are based on impartial research. Although it works with advisors, its main focus is on individuals. From the beginning, Mansueto, a former stock analyst, aimed to take the chaos of the investment world and create tools that would help individuals make sense of it. With so much investment information and opportunities available, it is easy for the average person to feel lost. The idea for Morningstar began when Mansueto realized that in order to compare funds and get enough information to begin investing effectively he would have to order prospectuses from each individual fund. The amount of information needed was overwhelming. Mansueto thought that if he could create a compendium of information for the different funds out there, it would make it much easier for the average person to invest intelligently. In 1984, Mansueto founded Morningstar Inc. and began by focusing on mutual funds. He created the Mutual Fund Sourcebook, a compilation of information on roughly 400 different mutual funds. More than two decades later, Morningstar assists more than 8.9 million individual investors with mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and more. The company employs more than 3,600 global employees, who research, write up, and rate investments along with guiding individuals toward making wise business decisions. Morningstar is dedicated to serving investors. It does not charge the companies that it rates and prides itself on maintaining an independent view. Analysts regularly compile data on more than 456,000 global investment offerings. Morningstar uses a five star rating system to inform investors about the financial strength of investment choices. High stars, such as 4 and 5, mean that the investment choices have the highest value and are expected to have a high level of return. Lower stars, such as 1 and 2, have lower perceived value compared to their cost and are perceived to be riskier investments. The company focuses on offering information for three different types of investment choices: mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. Mutual funds are pools of investments (often called portfolios) selected by fund managers. A mutual fund can be good for someone wanting less risk. The idea is to offset the high-risk investments by investing in multiple securities. Mutual funds are also well suited for investors who do not want to take the time or who lack the expertise to invest in individual securities. Morningstar also works with stocks and bonds. Stocks are ownerships, or stakes, in a particular company, whereas a bond is like a company IOU. A bond investor basically loans a company money with the understanding that the company will pay back the money with interest. Bonds generally carry less risk than stocks do. Multiply all this information by the thousands of mutual funds, stocks, and bonds out there, and it is easy to see why someone might become confused when deciding where to invest. Morningstar has even geared its website toward new investors, with features such as the investing classroom, analyst picks, data tools, and articles. In a post-Enron, post-recession world, it is more critical than ever that people understand how to manage their finances and keep their debt in check. Mansueto believes firmly that investing is a key component to financial solvency. He recommends investing early, even suggesting that high school students take the plunge. According to him, it is not the amount of money a person invests that matters; it is getting started early, being consistent, and patiently waiting for initial investments to grow.8 Discussion Questions:

What are stocks, bonds, and mutual funds? What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of investing in each of them? How does Morningstar attempt to make investing easier? Do you agree with their recommendation that everyone should start investing early in life, even during high school? Why or why not? Go to Morningstar's website (Links to an external site.) and try to do some research to identify a good investment. What is it and why does it look good to you? You may also want to search for large companies that are familiar to you. According to the information available on the website, what would be the pros and cons of investing in one of these companies?