Morgan Stanley honored by 2020 MMI / Barron’s Industry Awards in 3 categories

The FINANCIAL -- Morgan Stanley announced that the Firm has been honored by the 2020 Money Management Institute (MMI)/Barron’s Industry Awards, receiving honors for innovation and stellar service in three categories, including Social Justice, Digital Innovation and Wealth Manager Platform of the Year.

Since its inception, the annual MMI/Barron’s Industry Awards recognizes innovation and leadership in the investment advisory solutions industry and celebrates outstanding achievement by honoring firms that have raised the bar by delivering superior solutions for financial advisors and investors. Founded in 1997, the Money Management Institute is an industry association representing financial services firms that provide financial advice and professionally-managed investment advisory solutions to investors.

“At Morgan Stanley, we pride ourselves on our strong commitment to our clients and our communities,” said Andy Saperstein, Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Therefore, to be recognized by the Money Management Institute and Barron’s for our work in social justice, digital innovation and wealth management is really an honor for which we are very grateful.”

Honoring exemplary commitment and progress in embracing and advocating for social justice in the investment advisory solutions industry, Morgan Stanley tied for first with Raymond James in the category of Social Justice. Morgan Stanley was awarded for its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion for its intentional addition of ‘Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion’ to its core values, mirroring the company’s ongoing commitment to improving diversity in its workforce, building inclusive communities and ensuring its approach to wealth management reflects the needs of the communities it serves.

MMI/Barron’s Digital Innovation category honors a new technological innovation (or enhancement to an existing platform or tool) that enhances the investor or financial advisor experience with advisory solutions. Morgan Stanley was awarded for its Goals Planning System (GPS) which integrates proprietary goal planning with the Firm’s investment proposal tool, allowing Financial Advisors to scale their practice, deliver an engaging client experience and provide an enhanced and intuitive platform for goal tracking and reporting.

Marking Morgan Stanley’s third consecutive year being honored in the category, the Wealth Manager Platform of the Year category recognizes a wealth manager platform that exemplifies innovation in delivering better outcomes for investors and financial advisors. Morgan Stanley’s Advisory Expansion Efforts introduced a new suite of advisory solutions geared towards clients, including:

• Annuities in Advisory: Clients may purchase eligible annuities within client discretionary accounts and benefit from advisory relationship pricing. These annuities are also included in clients’ overall portfolio risk analytics.

• UMA Held Away: Provides a differentiated solution that delivers access to SMA strategies for clients’ custodying assets away from Morgan Stanley, providing transparency to Financial Advisors and clients on par with accounts held at Morgan Stanley.

• National Advisory 529 Plan: Regarded as the first of its kind within the industry, clients can now work with their Financial Advisor to select a Firm discretionary managed portfolio for an annual asset-based fee.

• Offshore UMA: This offering allows offshore mutual funds/ETFs, and onshore ETFs to be purchased by International Client Advisors and Financial Advisors with non-resident clients.

Nominations for the MMI/Barron’s Industry Awards were submitted in an open nomination process, and finalists were selected by a special review committee representing all segments of MMI’s membership. MMI member firms vote to determine the winners in each category.