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Investments in Unconsolidated Entities
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Investments in Unconsolidated Entities [Abstract]  
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures Disclosure Investments in Unconsolidated Entities
 
Our investments in unconsolidated entities consist primarily of the following:
As of December 31,
(in millions)20242023
Investment in SmartX Advisory Solutions$24.7 $35.0 
Non-current investment in Wealth Advisors24.9 27.7 
Equity method investments19.3 22.6 
Other investments in unconsolidated entities16.4 14.9 
Total investments in unconsolidated entities$85.3 $100.2 

On January 27, 2023, we entered into a Termination Agreement (the Termination Agreement) with Morningstar Japan K.K. (now known as SBI Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Wealth Advisors)), and a Tender Offer Agreement (the Tender Offer Agreement) with SBI Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. (now known as SBI Asset Management Group Co., Ltd. (SBI)).
Pursuant to the Termination Agreement, Wealth Advisors agreed to cease use of the Morningstar brand, and Morningstar and Wealth Advisors agreed to terminate the License Agreement originally entered into in 1998. As consideration for the transaction, Morningstar agreed to pay Wealth Advisors 8 billion Japanese yen upon the termination of the license agreement and the achievement of certain conditions related primarily to the termination of the use of the Morningstar brand by Wealth Advisors’ customers.

On April 6, 2023, we made the first cash payment of 6 billion Japanese yen ($45.1 million), and on April 19, 2023, we made the second and final cash payment of 2 billion Japanese yen ($14.8 million), pursuant to the Termination Agreement. The expense related to the Termination Agreement is recorded within "Expense from equity method transaction, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Income for the year ended December 31, 2023.

As part of this transaction, pursuant to the Tender Offer Agreement, Morningstar agreed to tender up to 10 million shares in Wealth Advisors to SBI. The tender offer closed on February 28, 2023, and SBI purchased 8,040,600 shares of Wealth Advisors from Morningstar, resulting in net proceeds of $26.2 million and a pre-tax gain of $18.4 million. The pre-tax gain is recorded within "Expense from equity method transaction, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Income for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Immediately following the tender offer, the company's ownership percentage in Wealth Advisors decreased to 13.2% from 22.1%, and as a result, we no longer account for our investment in Wealth Advisors as an equity method investment. Each reporting period, we remeasure our remaining investment in Wealth Advisors, an equity security with a readily determinable value, at fair value and recognize unrealized holding gains or losses within "Other income (expense), net" on our Consolidated Statements of Income. During the first quarter of 2023, we recognized an unrealized holding gain of $31.2 million, which is recorded within "Expense from equity method transaction, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Income for the year ended December 31, 2023.

As of December 31, 2024, $12.8 million of our investment in Wealth Advisors is included in "Investments" on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The carrying amount of other investments in unconsolidated entities without a readily determinable fair value, including our investment in SmartX Advisory Solutions, was $41.1 million and $49.9 million as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. We recorded a $12.4 million impairment loss in 2024 related to our investment in SmartX Advisory Solutions. We did not record any material impairment losses in 2023 or 2022.