Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced the launch of Morgan Stanley Access Investing. The new online investing platform is part of Morgan Stanley’s ongoing efforts to develop leading digital tools that can deliver the Firm’s human capital and insights to more clients, with greater efficiency and personalization.
Access Investing is an online investing platform designed to help build, monitor and automatically rebalance a diversified portfolio. Building on the Firm’s proprietary Goals-Based Wealth Management technology, Access Investing is designed to help investors who have less complex needs meet their unique financial goals – whether they are saving for retirement, buying a new car or purchasing a home – all while accounting for their time horizon and risk tolerance. Additionally, Access Investing allows Morgan Stanley’s financial advisors to expand their reach and nurture future clients by building a pipeline to the next generation of high net worth clients.
“Morgan Stanley Access Investing leverages the Firm’s intellectual capital to reach a broader audience of investors who are looking to achieve their financial goals,” commented Naureen Hassan, Chief Digital Officer, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Morgan Stanley Access Investing is an opportunity for financial advisors to grow their book of business by making connections with prospects earlier and eventually establishing full service relationships when clients are ready.”
“We built Morgan Stanley Access Investing using our industry state-of-the-art goals-based advisory platform,” said Chris Randazzo, Chief Information Officer for Wealth Management and Investment Management, Morgan Stanley. “We also used this opportunity to optimize our technology foundation, delivering broader benefits across our business and empowering us to release product innovations faster.”
Built entirely in house, Access Investing provides investors access to easy-to-use, low cost, high quality portfolios backed by the investment expertise of Morgan Stanley. Portfolios are based on asset allocation insights from Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Committee. They range across a core portfolio of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – combining elements of active and passive management – an ETF-only market tracking portfolio, and seven thematic portfolios. Sample themes include sustainability, gender diversity, next wave technology and emerging market trends.
Morgan Stanley studies have shown that 86 percent of Millennials – broadly defined as those born between the early 1980s and 2000 – say they are interested in socially responsible investing. Millennials are also twice as likely to invest in a fund if social responsibility is part of the value-creation thesis.
“Our analysis has shown that the next generation of high net worth individuals is looking for more than traditional portfolio allocation. By offering a diverse set of portfolios, we are enabling our clients to invest in what they believe,” said Lisa Shalett, Head of Investment and Portfolio Solutions, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Morgan Stanley Access Investing portfolios are backed by the same proprietary manager selection analytics used throughout the Firm, which we believe may improve the odds of adding performance value for the end investor.”
Key features for Morgan Stanley Access Investing include:
• A dynamic, goals-based approach powered by Morgan Stanley’s proprietary technology
• Portfolios guided by Morgan Stanley’s investment experts, composed of mutual funds and ETFs, featuring a blend of active and passive investment strategies
• Cutting-edge portfolio management technology, including automated rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting at no additional charge
• Simple online account opening, servicing and funding options, including mobile check deposit
• A fully mobile-optimized experience, allowing investors to access accounts across all devices
• An investment minimum of only $5,000
• A low advisory fee of 0.35% of assets under management
• No additional account service, transaction or termination fees. For all investments in mutual funds and ETFs, the client will incur fees and expenses related to owning shares of a fund. These will be in addition to and will not be included in the advisory fee.