Wirehouse rolls out AI tools throughout its wealth management division

Morgan Stanley is embracing AI within its ‘key driver’ wealth management business by making tech-powered tools available to more of its advisors and other professionals.

Sal Cucchiara, CIO of Wealth Management and Investment Management Technology says that the rollout represents a natural evolution of its generative AI capabilities.

The firm was an early adopter of AI as the first wealth manager to partner with Open AI and it launched a chatbot called AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant shortly after to unlock access to intellectual capital for advisors. A year ago it followed up with AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief, an AI notetaker.

Now, these tools and more will be available to other wealth employees for internal and external meetings, having been previously reserved for advisors.

“As we continually improve on the user experience, we’re excited to deliver on top requests from our Financial Advisors—including AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief available on the go via mobile for meetings outside the office, and the expansion of Debrief’s availability to the whole field allowing for more users to support Advisor teams,” explained Cucchiara, adding that the firm is only at the beginning of unlocking GenAI’s value.

In an internal memo, seen by InvestmentNews, Cucchiara and Chad Turner, head of wealth management platforms, told staff that the newly available tools are designed to “boost productivity, expand what teams are capable of and enhance the value we deliver to clients.”

The memo also reassures employees that tutorials and other training will be available and urges them to leverage these resources as well as ensure they understand and follow the firm’s guidelines and policies to ensure compliance and ethical use.

Compliance when using AI is a key focus across the financial services sector, as highlighted in a recent poll of RIAs which shows it is the number one concern ahead of anti-money laundering and cybersecurity.

Koren Maranca, Morgan Stanley’s head of Wealth Management Generative AI, explained that the wealth management business is all about connection and ultimately, client interaction.

“We continue to view this technology through different lenses so we can tailor enhancements to help increase adoption among our employees,” Maranca added. “To that, we’re dedicated to providing employees with robust trainings and education so they can feel comfortable and empowered to leverage these tools in meetings.”