Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has expanded its defined contribution retirement plan advisory services offering to include a new discretionary investment program.
The new program enables Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Retirement Directors and Graystone Institutional Consulting Directors to assume certain fiduciary responsibilities assisting plan sponsors with complex investment selection and asset allocation decisions.
Morgan Stanley can assume responsibility for the discretionary selection and monitoring of investment options within a plan’s investment lineup. In addition, plan sponsors may choose to utilize Morgan Stanley’s strategic risk-based models or target date model portfolios to provide plan participants with important asset allocation tools.
The new target date models have been developed by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Global Investment Committee and feature three unique allocation solutions or "glide paths" that adjust the equity and fixed-income allocations as participants get closer to retirement.
Mike Wilson, CIO, chair of the Global Investment Committee and head of Research for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said: "There’s a need to recognize that one size doesn’t fit all. Different plans have different circumstances, and that means a different complexion of risk for participants."
Each of the three allocation options offer protection against different risks that participants are likely to face over time and during retirement. One option offers a greater hedge against longevity and shortfall risk, another option hedges against inflation risk and market risk and the third looks to strike a dynamic balance between inflation and longevity risks. These discretionary offerings help plan sponsors get the optimal value for the benefit dollars spent.
Marc Brookman, head of Graystone Consulting and Institutional Consulting at Morgan Stanley, said: "As a leader in the corporate defined contribution marketplace, Morgan Stanley is committed to investing in the tools that innovate and expand our services. This is one of the many services that we are developing to help our clients achieve a successful retirement."
