NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced that it has launched a sustainable investing e-learning education program directly to the desktops of each of its approximately 16,000 Financial Advisors. Morgan Stanley offers individual and institutional clients sustainable and impact investing solutions through its proprietary Investing with Impact Platform.
Built in collaboration between Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and the Institute for Sustainable Investing, the web-based curriculum provides an immersive educational experience designed to equip Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors with the know-how to grow their business, connect with clients, and implement Investing with Impact solutions, tools and resources through a series of five themes covered in the course. The course will be displayed on the Morgan Stanley Elevate platform, a practice management e-learning program designed to help financial advisors grow their business.
“Our objective was quite bold – to be a catalyst in driving adoption of sustainable investing by our Financial Advisors and to provide every client who desires it an opportunity to invest in alignment with their values and impact objectives,” said Lily Trager, Director of Investing with Impact and Head of Impact Solutions, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
A 2016 Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Investor Pulse survey found that 55 percent of high net worth (HNW) individuals overall and 80 percent of HNW millennials were interested in sustainable investing1. Likewise, nearly two thirds of asset management professionals surveyed by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing and Bloomberg L.P. currently practice sustainable investing at their firms2. Since 2012, U.S. assets under management using sustainable investing criteria have risen 135 percent3. Currently over 60 percent of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors are using at least one Investing with Impact strategy in their portfolios4.
“As sustainable investing demand continues to gain momentum, it is imperative that today’s Financial Advisors are equipped with the knowledge to help clients make appropriate investment choices,” said Hilary Irby, Managing Director and Co-head of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley. “Morgan Stanley has been at the forefront in making sustainable investing strategies accessible to investors of all types. This training will enable even more of our Financial Advisors to deliver the solutions investors are increasingly demanding.”
The internal e-learning course includes videos, motion graphics and interactive exercises designed to help each Financial Advisor learn the full suite of Investing with Impact capabilities at their own pace.
Morgan Stanley’s Investing with Impact Platform, launched in 2012, enables clients to align investment decisions and personal values without sacrificing potential financial performance. The broader Investing with Impact platform now offers more than 140 investment products aiming to deliver positive environmental and social impact alongside market-rate financial returns.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a global leader, provides access to a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, cash management and lending products and services, annuities and insurance, retirement and trust services.
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1 http://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/sustainable-investing-trends
2 http://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/sustainable-investing-asset-managers
3 Source: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment: "2016 Report on U.S. Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Trends."**
4 Source: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management