NEW YORK & CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has completed the acquisition of Solium Capital Inc. (TSX: SUM) (“Solium”), a leading global provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) for equity administration, financial reporting and compliance. With this acquisition, Morgan Stanley is positioned to be an industry leader in providing financial solutions to the workplace, bringing together a major stock plan administration platform with its preeminent Wealth Management business.
The Solium business will be re-branded Shareworks by Morgan Stanley. It will be part of a new Morgan Stanley at Work suite of financial solutions which will also include Retirement and Financial Wellness. Morgan Stanley at Work will combine cutting-edge planning and risk management 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.
“The closing of this transaction represents an important milestone in our workplace strategy,” said Andy Saperstein, Head of Wealth Management. “Since we announced the Solium acquisition in February, there has been a significant level of interest in the new offering from corporations and institutions and we are winning competitive new mandates at an accelerated pace.”
Jed Finn, Head of Corporate & Institutional Solutions and COO of Wealth Management added: “Employers are looking for both flawless execution in the administration of their stock plan and value-added financial education and digital tools to help their employees with saving and investing. Morgan Stanley at Work can deliver against both of those needs, with a comprehensive suite of services.”
Marcos Lopez, formerly CEO of Solium, will continue to play a key role as Head of Shareworks by Morgan Stanley reporting to Brian McDonald, Head of Morgan Stanley at Work.
On a combined basis, Shareworks by Morgan Stanley will service more than 3,300 stock plan clients with 2.5 million participants, including Instacart, Levi Strauss, Shopify and Stripe and a range of fast growing private companies, as well as newly public companies and a quarter of the Fortune 500.
Access to the combined participant base through industry-leading software is expected to enhance Morgan Stanley’s client acquisition efforts in a manner that complements its Financial Advisor channel, which constitutes the core of Morgan Stanley’s strategy. As plan participants build their wealth, and their needs become more complex, there is a natural transition to an Advisor-based relationship. Younger plan participants in the earlier stages of their careers can elect to be served by the Morgan Stanley Access Investing and Morgan Stanley Virtual advisor channels.
Morgan Stanley 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.
Morgan Stanley at Work and Shareworks by Morgan Stanley are service marks of Morgan Stanley or its affiliates.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including the attainment of certain financial and other targets, objectives and goals. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made, which reflect management’s current estimates, projections, expectations, assumptions, interpretations or beliefs and which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the future results of the Firm, please see “Forward-Looking Statements” immediately preceding Part I, Item 1, “Competition” and “Supervision and Regulation” in Part I, Item 1, “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, “Legal Proceedings” in Part I, Item 3, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in Part II, Item 7A in the Firm’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other items throughout the Form 10-K, the Firm’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and the Firm’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments thereto.
