Morgan Stanley Drops Vanguard, Why?

Recently we moved into new office space which is a much better reflection of who we are as a company than the old space. Why? Because it’s open, clutter free, modern, and transparent! It represents who we are and how we do business. Most importantly it sends a deliberate message to our clients that they come first and that we are here to serve them, not ourselves which is a core value of a fee-only advisor.  But, not all financial advisors are the same.  Take Morgan Stanley as an example. The parent company decides what products their brokers are going to be able to offer their clients. The advisor has no say which is why there was such a backlash when Morgan Stanley pulled Vanguard’s open ended mutual funds from their line-up. Here is the article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. But, take special note of the very last sentence in the article by Erin Arvedlund, Business Staff Writer. Morgan Stanley charges $250,000 PER YEAR to any fund company that wants to showcase its funds on their platform. It’s called PAY TO PLAY. Do you think pay-to-play culture actually works to the best interest of Morgan Stanley’s clients? Probably not. Fiduciaries do not pay-to-play. There are no hard OR soft dollars that move between us and anyone else. Glass walls are open for all to see what’s inside. Come see for yourself.