Morgan Stanley Pvt Wealth Mgmt To Add 200 Brokers
Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, or PWM, is planning to hire an additional 200 financial advisers over the next three to five years, to reach a goal of 700 advisers, according to a company spokeswoman.
Morgan Stanley PWM, a unit of the joint venture between Morgan Stanley (MS) and Smith Barney, is now combined with Citi Family Office and focuses on ultra-high-net-worth clients with a minimum net worth of $20 million.
The 700-adviser target is double what the division had in January before the joint venture closed. Morgan Stanley plans to have 300 advisers in the U.S. and 400 in international markets, the spokeswoman said.
The move reflects brokerages' increasing focus on attracting clients who are the richest of the rich. Even while these clients' net worth has been hurt by the financial crisis, they are still the prime target for top financial advisers.
Some major competitors in the ultra-high-net-worth arena are JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM) Private Bank, Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Investment Group, or PBIG, and UBS AG's (UBS) Private Wealth Management group. JPMorgan Private Bank boasts more than $250 billion in client assets. UBS Private Wealth Management has 10 offices and 216 advisers in the U.S. Bank of America didn't immediately respond to a request for details on its PBIG unit.
Morgan Stanley PWM has 25 offices worldwide. Legacy Citi Family Offices advisers have the option of moving into a PWM office or remaining in their current branch with a Family Wealth Designation.
The brokerage plans to expand its PWM group by bringing up advisers already at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney who want to focus their business solely on the ultra-high-net-worth sector, and by hiring qualified advisers from other firms.
On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management posted a third-quarter profit of $280 million, thanks to a rising stock market. The group's client assets rose to $1.5 trillion from $1.4 trillion at the end of the second quarter.
-By Annie Gasparro and Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2244; annie.gasparro@dowjones.com [ 10-22-09 1537ET ]
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