Morgan Stanley at Work announced June 22 that it plans to purchase nonqualified deferred compensation plan provider American Financial Systems (AFS), adding to the firm’s spectrum of workplace offerings.
According to the June 22 announcement, AFS’ full-service deferred compensation plan offerings include:
- plan design consulting to help assess a sponsor’s objectives alongside retirement plan consultants and financial advisors;
- plan implementation and online enrollment, providing a single point of contact to manage documentation, help to get set up on Deferral.com and monitor participant enrollment;
- funding analysis and optimization, utilizing the latest proprietary software to model various alternatives for meeting financial obligations; and
- client management and plan recordkeeping, providing dedicated account managers to handle day-to-day processing, recordkeeping, and support to maintain balances and reporting.
“The workplace is a key story to watch over the next five years in the wealth management industry,” Jed Finn, Head of Corporate & Institutional Solutions and COO of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in a statement. “It is the single most important source of wealth creation, and at Morgan Stanley we have been hard at work creating an end-to-end integrated offering where we can help plan participants reach their financial goals and corporations manage the full spectrum of their financial wellness, equity, and now with the addition of AFS, deferred cash offerings.”
“Attracting, retaining, and motivating top talent is a top priority for our clients and their organizations,” added Brian McDonald, Head of Morgan Stanley at Work. “Combining AFS with our workplace offering along with the proficiency of our Financial Advisors creates a powerful value proposition for plan sponsors and their participants.”
The transaction is expected to close this fall. Its terms were not disclosed.
