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September 13, 2021 at 05:41 PM
What You Need to Know
- The expanded pact with Empower will help Morgan Stanley to serve advisor-sold plans under $50 million in assets with comprehensive retirement solutions.
- As part of the expanded relationship, there will be combined access to Morgan Stanley at Work’s stock plan administration services.
- The announcement comes shortly after Morgan Stanley announced a deal with Vestwell to serve small retirement plans.
Morgan Stanley has expanded its longstanding relationship with Empower Retirement, enhancing the Morgan Stanley at Work division’s ability to serve advisor-sold plans under $50 million in assets with comprehensive retirement solutions to attract and retain talent, the firms said Monday.
The enhanced pact with Empower comes shortly after Morgan Stanley at Work announced a business partnership and strategic investment with Vestwell to serve small retirement plans, and demonstrates the wirehouse’s “commitment to innovation and thoughtful disruption in the workplace wealth space,” according to Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley’s workplace strategy was “ignited” in 2019 with the acquisition of Solium Capital, now Shareworks by Morgan Stanley, and then again, more recently, with the acquisition of E-Trade, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman told ThinkAdvisor on Monday.
‘Digital-Forward’ Solutions
As part of the expanded relationship with Empower, there will be combined access to Morgan Stanley at Work’s stock plan administration services and Empower’s growing retirement plan market share, the companies said in the joint announcement.
Also included as part of the expanded pact are access to co-branded “digital-forward” solutions and capabilities; streamlined administration for plan sponsors and financial advisors; fund selection driven by the Morgan Stanley Global Investment Manager Analysis team; and favorable administrative pricing terms through Morgan Stanley, the firms said.
Morgan Stanley at Work’s Retirement Solutions offers a flexible, multi-provider recordkeeper platform designed to meet the needs of firms, it says.
Retirement Solutions is part of the Morgan Stanley at Work suite of financial solutions, which spans Equity Compensation through Shareworks and E-Trade Equity Edge Online, retirement and financial wellness solutions.
