The Most Cold-Blooded Financial Death Notice Ever

This is pretty dehumanizing.

Talk about cold-blooded.

A research director for investment management firm AllianceBernstein died recently and all an article about his death could care about was what happened to the fund he oversaw.

"AllianceBernstein Research Director Dies" states the headline of a Morningstar article in the data and analysis company's Fund Times newsletter. The article gives the research director's name and age — Andrew Weiner, 45, for the record — but no other information about his death. Not the cause, not his years of service, not who he is survived by. Nothing.

Instead, the article launches into the fate of the fund. (See below.)

"Morningstar has put AllianceBernstein Discovery Value, previously rated Neutral, Under Review," notes the article. It then names the people now in charge of the fund, states its prior performance, and informs readers that AllianceBernstein is still in the process of determining whether the fund will require "additional resources."

In short, the article contains more information about the fund's performance than the death of its relatively young research director. Morningstar appears more concerned with what Weiner's death means for investors than, like, his family or basic human decency.

"This is a straightforward analyst brief to inform investors that Mr. Weiner passed away and what it means for fund shareholders," a Morningstar representative said.

A source at AllianceBernstein called Weiner's death a very tragic situation, adding that he had been with the company nearly 20 years and was quite a well-loved and respected person, universally.

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