Morgan Stanley Raises the Bar for Financial Advisor Compensation

Dow Jones
Sep 18

Morgan Stanley financial advisors have been quite productive. Next year, they may have to up their game to earn the same pay.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street giant unveiled its 2027 advisor compensation plan, which follows the brokerage industry practice of using a grid to determine pay. Advisors who generate more annual revenue move up the grid and earn higher payouts, calculated as a percentage of the revenue they generate. Advisors are paid in a combination of upfront cash and deferred compensation.

Under Morgan Stanley's new compensation plan, the thresholds for each of its 16 grid bands will increase by approximately 10%. That could shift some advisors into lower bands, reducing their payout percentages. The payout range-from 28% to 55.5% of the annual revenue advisors generate-remains unchanged, according to a person familiar with the matter. That doesn't include additional incentive compensation that advisors can earn.

"Each year, we take a thoughtful look at our plan to make sure it continues to reward growth, encourage the right behaviors and drive our strategy," Vince Lumia, head of client segments at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, wrote in a company memo. "The 2027 updates are designed to support the continued strength of our business while helping you maximize the full potential of your practice through the Firm's unmatched resources."

Morgan Stanley is the first of the big four national brokerage firms, which are often referred to as wirehouses, to issue its annual compensation plan. The other three are UBS, Bank of America's Merrill, and Wells Fargo. Morgan Stanley is the largest of the four wirehouses, with well over 10,000 financial advisors who oversaw $6.3 trillion in assets as of June 30. Advisor-led client assets, meaning those assets overseen by Morgan Stanley advisors and not the company's retirement stock plan business or its E*Trade self-directed brokerage unit, were up 24% year over year.

The company has seen substantial growth in its wealth management business, with advisors bringing in billions of dollars of new assets to the company.

Over the past three years, gross revenue for the average financial advisor has increased by 56%, and net new assets over the last 12 quarters were $1.1 trillion.

Morgan Stanley also appears to be trying to enhance the attractiveness of its Advisor Legacy Program, its retirement program for advisors. The company is boosting a bonus for advisors with 30 years or more at the company.

Industry news website AdvisorHub earlier reported details of the compensation plan.

When Morgan Stanley unveiled changes to its compensation plan for the current year, they included increasing the upfront cash component of advisor pay and lowering the deferred compensation component.

 

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