Morningstar Inc. announced March 3 that it has reached an agreement to acquire PlanPlus Global, a financial-planning and risk-profiling software firm based in Toronto.

Morningstar calls the acquisition another step in the expansion of its “financial-planning capabilities for advisors around the globe.”

"With a 30-year track record, PlanPlus Global's strengths in risk profiling and financial planning have been proven to stand the test of time. These capabilities will only become more important as planning grows more central to the value advisors deliver to clients and as the industry puts more focus on ensuring investment plans are best suited for each client's unique goals and circumstances," said Scott Mackenzie, president and CEO of Morningstar Canada.

Morningstar says it plans to continue offering PlanPlus Global's FinaMetrica Profiler as a stand-alone, risk-profiling tool in global markets where it is offered today, and it also sees opportunity to integrate this capability into its existing solutions. Also, Morningstar says it plans to add PlanPlus Global's financial-planning solution, ProPlanner (formerly Planit), to its offerings in Canada alongside continued support for its users worldwide.

"Morningstar has shown a vision and commitment to enable basic goal planning all the way through to advanced planning for high-net-worth-focused advisors,” said Shawn Brayman, founder and CEO of PlanPlus Global. When it comes to finding a large, strategic fintech partner that can help us scale our solutions in the marketplace and enhance the value to our users globally, Morningstar is the perfect fit,"

PlanPlus Global's more than 40 employees are expected to join Morningstar. Brayman, who originally founded PlanPlus Inc. in 1990, as well as the firm's leadership team are also expected to join Morningstar.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Financial terms were not disclosed.