Executive Wealth Planning

10 Ways To Support Executive Wealth Planning

Looking for ways to improve executive happiness and productivity? The answer may lie in giving them access to financial planning resources. Here, we explore 10 practices you can adopt to better support your executives along their wealth planning journey.

As the financial landscape becomes more complex, the need for professional guidance grows. That may be why 97% of affluent investors say financial planning is important to both enhance financial outcomes and improve mental well-being. Beyond being more confident and satisfied, investors with a financial plan worry less and feel better about their financial outlook, life direction and even relationships.i

 

Plus, 66% of employees who experience financial stress are less productive, a trend driving employers to provide access to financial planning support. Tailoring this offer to executives can be especially beneficial by strengthening hiring, fostering greater engagement and fueling retention.ii

 

Here are 10 strategies benefits administrators and HR teams can adopt to unlock these advantages.

  1. 1
    Offer Personalized, Goals-Based Financial Planning

    While executives often have strong financial literacy, many lack the time to focus on financial planning. That’s doubly true when you consider that executives face complex financial decisions that can’t always be solved with generic advice. Financial professionals can help by integrating all elements of an executive’s financial life into a coordinated strategy that takes both short- and long-term goals into account—from education planning, liquidity and retirement to tax management, legacy planning and beyond.

  2. 2
    Integrate Corporate Benefits Into Comprehensive Financial Plans

    One way to enhance value for executives is by helping them understand how any company stock, deferred compensation and employer-sponsored retirement plans fit into their personal financial strategies. With access to financial planners familiar with your benefits program, your executives may be better positioned to optimize their portfolio and reduce tax exposure across the board.

  3. 3
    Provide Access To Specialized Expertise

    Executives often look to their employers for help navigating financial decisions, especially around company equity and benefits. While companies shouldn’t offer direct financial or tax advice, they can play a vital role by partnering with trusted external advisors who understand the nuances of executive compensation and can help answer questions around Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), Restricted Stock Unites (RSUs), Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and 10b5-1 plans.

  4. 4
    Enable Confidential, One-On-One Guidance

    Although group educational sessions can have a place in your benefits toolbox, executives may be uncomfortable asking questions or admitting to a gap in their financial knowledge in group settings. Confidential, individual sessions allow them to open up about their true concerns, unlocking deeper planning opportunities beyond their surface-level questions.

  5. 5
    Proactively Anticipate Evolving Planning Needs

    Major liquidity events, like initial public offerings (IPOs) or mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and life changes such as retirement, relocation or divorce are inflection points that require renewed planning. Executives poised to experience a change in their wealth may find themselves suddenly out of their depth. Access to tailored financial advice and education can help them anticipate these shifts and reassess their strategies.

  6. 6
    Tailor Solutions to the Company Culture

    No two organizations are the same. Some may want formal advisory services as an executive benefit. Others may start with group education and evolve into one-on-one planning. To align your financial planning offer to your business culture, the delivery model should fit your company preferences and compliance needs. 

  1. 7
    Extend Services to Global Executives

    Executives based outside the U.S. often lack access to financial planning resources that take regional rules and regulations into account. By partnering with advisors who use proprietary tools that support international investment modeling, you can address these cross-border complexities and provide equitable service to all your senior leaders. 

  2. 8
    Help Executives Build the Right Advisory Team

    While many executives have pre-existing advisory relationships, not all advisors are equipped to handle complex equity, estate or tax issues. This gap in knowledge can result in costly missteps, especially for highly compensated executives with complex equity holdings or concentrated positions. By connecting them with experienced Financial Advisors, you can help bridge this gap.

  3. 9
    Position Financial Planning as a Retention and Productivity Tool

    Executives who feel financially secure are less likely to seek new roles and more likely to be focused, engaged leaders—and financial planning can help. By supporting both newer and seasoned executives as they prepare for a variety of life events, you do more than provide a source of wellness to your top management. You also raise the odds of strengthening talent attraction and retention.

  4. 10
    Prioritize Service Over Sales

    Despite knowing the importance of financial planning, some executives hesitate to work with advisors because they’re wary of being sold to. However, quality Financial Advisors are focused on getting to know you and your goals. This relationship-driven approach is meant to create long-term value—both for executives and the companies that make this benefit available to them.

     

    For more tips on delivering tailored executive financial planning support, reach out to Morgan Stanley at Work.

Related Stories

Discover more unique perspectives to motivate your employees and fuel your business.

Footnotes:

iMorgan Stanley. “Those With a Financial Plan Feel More Confident, Satisfied and Less Financially Worried, Finds Morgan Stanley Wealth Management,” July 8, 2025.

iiMorgan Stanley at Work. “State of the Workplace 2025 Financial Benefits Study,” 2025. 

Disclosures:

PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES BELOW.

Employee stock plan solutions are offered by E*TRADE Financial Corporate Services, Inc., Solium Capital LLC, Solium Plan Managers LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“MSSB”), which are part of Morgan Stanley at Work. Morgan Stanley at Work services and stock plan accounts are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley at Work stock plan accounts were previously referred to as Shareworks, StockPlan Connect or E*TRADE stock plan accounts, as applicable. In connection with stock plan solutions offered by Morgan Stanley at Work, securities products and services are offered by MSSB, Member SIPC. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley is a registered trademark of MSSB. All entities are separate but affiliated subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. Content and services available to non-US participants may be different than those available to US participants.

The laws, regulations, and rulings addressed by the products, services, and publications offered by Morgan Stanley and its affiliates are subject to various interpretations and frequent change. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates do not warrant these products, services, and publications against different interpretations or subsequent changes of laws, regulations, and rulings. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates do not provide legal, accounting, or tax advice. Always consult your own legal, accounting, and tax advisors.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please visit us at http://www.morganstanleyindividual.com or consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences.

Clients executing a 10b5-1 Plan should keep the following important considerations in mind: (1) 10b5-1 Plans should be approved by the compliance officer or general counsel of the company; (2) A 10b5-1 Plan may require a cessation of trading activities at times when lockups may be necessary to the company (i.e. secondary offerings, pooling transactions, etc.); (3) A 10b5-1 Plan does not generally alter the regulatory requirements (e.g. Rule 144, Section 16, Section 13D) that may otherwise be applicable; (4) 10b5-1 Plans that are modified or terminated early may weaken or lose the benefit of the affirmative defense; (5) Public disclosure of 10b5-1 Plans (e.g., via press release) may be appropriate for some insiders; (6) Most companies will permit 10b5-1 Plans to be implemented only during open window periods; and (7) Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, as well as some issuers, imposes a mandatory waiting period between the execution of the 10b5-1 Plan and the first sale pursuant to the 10b5-1 Plan.

Preset Diversification Program is a registered Trademark of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, protected in the United States and other countries.

Initial public offerings (IPOs) and secondary offering suitability requirements apply. There is no guarantee of receiving IPO shares. Please be advised that public offerings are not suitable for all investors. IPOs are highly volatile and risky and should not be considered by investors with conservative investment objectives or low tolerance for risk. show less

© 2025 Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved.

CRC 4846238 (10/2025)

 

View Disclosures Close Disclosures