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November 20, 2018 at 08:01 AM
Morgan Stanley’s New York headquarters (Photo: Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley is rolling out a new advisor platform, WealthDesk, for its 15,000-plus advisors and brokers as part its evolving digital strategy.
“It’s very easy to make the mistake that what we’re launching is just another tool to help advisors,” an executive at the firm told the media. “Because it is that, and it certainly will help advisors and it will help our clients, but it’s really a part of this ongoing technology strategy and overall firm strategy.”
According to the executive, Morgan Stanley is “intentionally spending more money than a lot of the other firms” have because the firm believes the future of wealth is the combination of advisors and best-in-class technology.
The Morgan Stanley executive would not say how much the firm was spending on technology, but said it was a “big number” with “lots of commas.”
The new advisory platform, which was developed in-house, provides a consolidated view of client relationships and portfolios and integrates planning, advice and implementation — all on one dashboard.
To do this, Morgan Stanley overhauled its advisory platforms and merged many applications.
Advisors don’t have to immediately make a full switch to WealthDesk, although a Morgan Stanley executive said he thinks WealthDesk will be advisors’ preferred way to operate in two years.
