Morgan Stanley plans to launch a full-service wealth management offering in Canada, offering to complement the existing Shareworks stock plan administrative services it provides to executives and employees who reside in the country. The offering will include Financial Advisors, virtual Financial Advisors, a discount self-directed investing solution, and online investment management.
Brian McDonald, Head of Morgan Stanley at Work, said: “The creation of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada will add wealth management services to our comprehensive suite of workplace financial solutions. Taken together, these solutions will help to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of Canadian companies by meeting the breadth of their employees’ needs.”
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada will have the technological support of local platform provider Canaccord Genuity. The firm, founded in 1950, operates in two principal segments of the securities industry: wealth management and capital markets. Throughout the decades, Canaccord Genuity has provided comprehensive investment solutions, brokerage services, and investment banking services across the world, with offices located in Canada, the UK, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Australia. Canaccord Genuity, the international capital markets division, operates in North America, UK & Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
Greg Gatesman, Co-Head of International Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, said: “We are pleased to have Canaccord Genuity as our platform partner, delivering a suite of clearing, custody and wealth management solutions.” Stuart Raftus, President of Wealth Management at Canaccord Genuity in Canada added, “We are pleased to provide Morgan Stanley with a number of customized solutions in support of this new venture. It’s a testament to the breadth and depth of Canaccord Genuity’s capabilities.”
Morgan Stanley’s stock plan administrative services Shareworks (formerly known as Solium Capital, acquired in May 2019) has been operating in Canada since 1999 and services more than 350 Canadian Companies, comprising over 70% of the companies listed on the TSX60. Its client base includes more than 275,000 Canadian stock plan participants who hold more than US$17.5 billion in assets.
Laura Adams, Head of Institutional Distribution in Canada and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada”, said: “Morgan Stanley’s leading U.S. wealth management platform has over US$2.4 trillion in assets under management and is supported by more than 15,000 financial advisors. We’re excited to expand our wealth management footprint into Canada with a solution that’s tailored to the Canadian market.”
Morgan Stanley employs over 1,500 Canadians across a diverse group of businesses, including Institutional Securities Sales & Trading, Investment Banking, Capital Markets, Commodity Trading, and a Technology Center, with offices in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal.
