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What We Do
What We Do
- Morgan Stanley helps people, institutions and governments raise, manage and distribute the capital they need to achieve their goals.
  
  Wealth Management
  
  We help people, businesses and institutions build, preserve and manage wealth so they can pursue their financial goals.
- Morgan Stanley helps people, institutions and governments raise, manage and distribute the capital they need to achieve their goals.
  
  Investment Banking & Capital Markets
  
  We have global expertise in market analysis and in advisory and capital-raising services for corporations, institutions and governments.
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- Morgan Stanley helps people, institutions and governments raise, manage and distribute the capital they need to achieve their goals.
  
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  We deliver active investment strategies across public and private markets and custom solutions to institutional and individual investors.
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  From our startup lab to our cutting-edge research, we broaden access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs and spotlight their success.
About Us
About Us
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
  Core Values
  
  Everything we do at Morgan Stanley is guided by our five core values: Do the right thing, put clients first, lead with exceptional ideas, commit to diversity and inclusion, and give back.
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
  Leadership
  
  Morgan Stanley leadership is dedicated to conducting first-class business in a first-class way. Our board of directors and senior executives hold the belief that capital can and should benefit all of society.
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
  History
  
  From our origins as a small Wall Street partnership to becoming a global firm of more than 80,000 employees today, Morgan Stanley has been committed to clients and communities for 87 years.
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- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
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  Morgan Stanley is differentiated by the caliber of our diverse team. Our culture of access and inclusion has built our legacy and shapes our future, helping to strengthen our business and bring value to clients.
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
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  Our firm's commitment to sustainability informs our operations, governance, risk management, diversity efforts, philanthropy and research.
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
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  At Morgan Stanley, giving back is a core value—a central part of our culture globally. We live that commitment through long-lasting partnerships, community-based delivery and engaging our best asset—Morgan Stanley employees.
- Since our founding in 1935, Morgan Stanley has consistently delivered first-class business in a first-class way. Underpinning all that we do are five core values.
  
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  As a global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley is committed to technological innovation. We rely on our technologists around the world to create leading-edge, secure platforms for all our businesses.
Why Us
Why Us
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Alternative Investments

At Morgan Stanley, we provide individuals and institutions access to world-class alternative investment strategies spanning private equity, real assets, private credit, hedge funds and digital assets. These strategies may deliver differentiated sources of return relative to traditional equity and fixed income investments, as well as offer potential for tax efficiency.

Strategic Diversification for Your Portfolio

Working with your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor, you may be able to use alternative investments to reduce volatility, enhance returns, manage taxes and earn more income while maintaining a goals-based approach for your asset allocation. Alternative investments may help you:

Diversify your holdings

by investing in strategies with less dependence on the direction of traditional equity and fixed income markets, which may add stability to your portfolio over time

Grow your assets

by incorporating investment approaches lead by asset managers skilled at identifying and creating value in less efficient markets

Mitigate tax liabilities

by diversifying with tax-deferred or tax-exempt alternative strategies

Generate income

by owning cash-producing real assets or extending credit in private and non-traditional markets

1

Exclusive access with personalized guidance

Expand your investment universe with a robust selection of over 160 alternative offerings available through your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor. Our unparalleled range of products includes first look and exclusive access to funds that may otherwise be available only to institutional investors, integrated into a customized financial plan that puts you at the center of everything we do.
2

Thematic top-down research-driven approach

Morgan Stanley's extensive experience and global network affords our clients access to investment opportunities from leading managers in the industry. Both third-party and proprietary solutions are offered. Our fund selection is powered by our scale, guided by a deliberate and thematic top-down approach lead by our Global Investment Office and committed to helping you identify the strategy that best aligns with your goals, values and risk tolerance.
3

Rigorous bottom-up investment and operational due diligence

Over 30 dedicated alternative investment and operational due diligence analysts apply an institutionalized investment selection process and proprietary methodologies to identify high-quality strategies. This highly selective approach includes rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis, business and operational review, comprehensive governance and oversight, and ongoing monitoring.
4

Values-based investing

Align your investments with your values through alternative funds that seek to generate superior risk-adjusted returns alongside environmental sustainability and positive social impact, including global community improvement and driving equity across race, ethnicity, gender and orientation.
5

Tailored approach and customized solutions

Access a full suite of alternative strategies and a tailored portfolio implementation approach to address your specific objectives. Additionally, we offer co-investments and direct investments, as well as customized structures to help meet the needs of institutional clients who require a bespoke solution.

Alternative Investment Categories at a Glance

Your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor can help you determine if any of the following strategies are a fit for your portfolio.

Private Equity

Private market investment approaches, such as private company buyouts, growth equity and venture capital generally seek higher growth and additional diversification relative to traditional equity markets.

Private Credit

Private corporate lending and private real estate lending offer the potential for higher income relative to traditional fixed income markets; additionally, distressed credit investing may serve as an opportunistic means of generating risk-adjusted growth

Real Estate / Real Assets

Assets such as private real estate and infrastructure offer investors the potential for both appreciation growth and tax-advantaged income while helping to mitigate inflation risk over time

Hedge Funds

Hedged strategies can help manage portfolio volatility, while seeking enhanced risk-adjusted returns relative to traditional equity and fixed income markets

Digital Assets

Digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, offer speculative investors the potential for both growth and inflation risk mitigation

Tax-Advantaged Strategies

Strategies, such as concentrated stock exchange funds, 1031 real estate exchanges, real estate opportunity zones, private placement variable annuity and life insurance structures offer investors a means of additional diversification with the added benefit of reducing or deferring tax liability

Innovative Solutions for Your Wealth

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management offers qualified investors a full suite of alternative investments across various asset classes. Work with your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor to see how an alternative investment strategy can help strengthen your portfolio.

CONTACT YOUR PRIVATE WEALTH ADVISOR

Check the background of our firm and investment professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.

Insights and Ideas from Morgan Stanley

Learn from our thought leaders about how alternative investments can help you manage your wealth and help meet your personal financial goals.

Alternatives 2.0: Innovative Ways to Diversify Your Portfolio

Wealth Management Alternatives 2.0: Innovative Ways to Diversify Your Portfolio Learn how a host of innovative alternative strategies could bolster investors’ portfolios as traditional assets face headwinds.

Wealth Management Alternative Strategies: Five Key Themes In an environment where past-cycle playbooks may not work, alternative investments may serve a valuable role in a portfolio.

Wealth Managment Wealth Management Portfolio Insights Timely market commentary, thought leadership and portfolio ideas to help guide your investment decisions.

Wealth Management Pursue Your Goals Goals-Based Wealth Management means that we aim to understand what is important to you and work together to map out a plan that can help you achieve your financial goals.

Wealth Management Your Guide to Tax-Efficient Planning The tax decisions you make today can help you save for years to come. Consider these smart tax strategies for your financial plan.

Wealth Management Alternatives 2.0: Innovative Ways to Diversify Your Portfolio

Wealth Management Alternative Strategies: Five Key Themes

Wealth Managment Wealth Management Portfolio Insights

Wealth Management Pursue Your Goals

Wealth Management Your Guide to Tax-Efficient Planning

1. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Alternative Investments Group. As of January 3, 2022.

Disclosures

Alternative investments often are speculative and include a high degree of risk. Investors could lose all or a substantial amount of their investment. Alternative investments are appropriate only for eligible, long-term investors who are willing to forgo liquidity and put capital at risk for an indefinite period of time. They may be highly illiquid and can engage in leverage and other speculative practices that may increase the volatility and risk of loss. Alternative Investments typically have higher fees than traditional investments. Investors should carefully review and consider potential risks before investing. Certain of these risks may include but are not limited to:

• Loss of all or a substantial portion of the investment due to leveraging, short-selling, or other speculative practices;

• Lack of liquidity in that there may be no secondary market for a fund;

• Volatility of returns

• Restrictions on transferring interests in a fund;

• Potential lack of diversification and resulting higher risk due to concentration of trading authority when a single advisor is utilized;

• Absence of information regarding valuations and pricing;

• Complex tax structures and delays in tax reporting;

• Less regulation and higher fees than mutual funds;

• Risks associated with the operations, personnel, and processes of the manager; and

Risks associated with cybersecurity.

As a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management engages in a broad spectrum of activities including financial advisory services, investment management activities, sponsoring and managing private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal securities, commodities and foreign exchange transactions, research publication, and other activities. In the ordinary course of its business, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management therefore engages in activities where Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s interests may conflict with the interests of its clients, including the private investment funds it manages. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management can give no assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in favor of its clients or any such fund.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

Alternative investments involve complex tax structures, tax inefficient investing, and delays in distributing important tax information. Individual funds have specific risks related to their investment programs that will vary from fund to fund. Clients should consult their own tax and legal advisors as Morgan Stanley Wealth Management does not provide tax or legal advice.