Press Release

Morgan Stanley at Work Creates Powerful Retirement Recordkeeper Value Proposition for Plan Sponsors Through Partnership with Vestwell

Issued by Morgan Stanley

July 21, 2021

NEW YORK -- Morgan Stanley at Work today announced an innovative retirement partnership with Vestwell that delivers user-friendly digital solutions and favored pricing, helping reduce administrative workload, simplifying revenue and expense management and maximizing participant engagement.

“We continuously look for new and exciting ways to raise the bar on what both clients and participants can expect when it comes to an employee’s financial journey,” said Brian McDonald, Co-Head of Morgan Stanley at Work. “Our partnership with Vestwell represents a major step forward for the industry, where clients benefit from groundbreaking digital technology and exceptional service delivered at the competitive price points that Morgan Stanley’s scale can deliver. This is truly a win-win for the marketplace, creating a value proposition that is hard to beat.”

In addition to the commercial business relationship with Vestwell, Morgan Stanley also made a strategic investment in the firm during Vestwell’s recent Series C financing round. The combination of a strategic investment and a business partnership demonstrates a commitment to cutting-edge innovation and thoughtful disruption in the workplace wealth space.

“Morgan Stanley’s commitment to be a change agent that revolutionizes workplace savings programs for employers and employees aligns perfectly with our vision at Vestwell,” says Aaron Schumm, Founder and CEO of Vestwell. “Together, we are fundamentally altering the way technology and servicing can elevate and scale the experience. We are so grateful and excited to partner with the Morgan Stanley team and their thousands of Financial Advisors to drive change for the better.”

Morgan Stanley at Work Retirement Solutions offers a flexible, multi-provider recordkeeper platform designed to meet the individual needs of companies. In addition to providing customized retirement solutions, Morgan Stanley has dedicated retirement specialists that both understand the challenges businesses face and offer support and service for their employees. Through a consultative process, the Firm’s specialists help companies improve plan competitiveness and fiduciary risk management, investment selection and monitoring, and employee retirement readiness.

Retirement Solutions is part of the Morgan Stanley at Work suite of financial solutions, which also includes Equity Compensation through Shareworks and Equity Edge Online, and Financial Wellness. Morgan Stanley at Work combines cutting-edge benefits software, Morgan Stanley intellectual capital and financial education delivered through multiple channels to enable employees to build a holistic plan to achieve their financial goals. Employee stock plan solutions, including Equity Edge Online, are part of the Morgan Stanley at Work solutions and are offered by E*TRADE Financial Corporate Services, Inc.

About Vestwell Holdings, Inc.

Vestwell is the engine powering modern-day workplace savings and investing programs, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans). Our cloud-based digital recordkeeping platform provides the underlying architecture to support financial services and payroll partners, while bringing clients an easier, more flexible, and user-friendly experience. Learn more at www.vestwell.com and on Twitter @Vestwell.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

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