Morgan Stanley at Work, a provider of workplace financial solutions, has unveiled a range of technological advancements aimed at bolstering automation and efficiency within an expanding spectrum of workplace benefits solutions.
The solutions encompass equity compensation, retirement plans, deferred compensation, executive services, savings and charitable giving, as well as financial wellness initiatives.
Morgan Stanley at Work has reported that its platforms, Equity Edge Online (EEO) and Shareworks, collectively cater to approximately 40% of the S&P 500 companies in the US.
The improvements to EEO include revamped stock plan participant accounts now prominently feature the Morgan Stanley at Work brand, providing a cohesive and streamlined user experience. This marks a shift towards a unified Morgan Stanley at Work user account structure.
With the upgrades, plan administrators can now gain the ability to upload foreign exchange rates by equity type, storing converted income and withholding amounts at the transaction level in local currency. This facilitates automated reporting to internal business partners in both USD and local currency denominations.
Enhanced workflow functionality introduces templates, enabling administrators to create and integrate customised workflows that align with their internal processes. These workflows can be scheduled to run automatically at regular intervals.
The introduction of scheduled blackouts at the participant group level allows for dynamic adjustments as participants enter or exit company-defined parameters.
On the Shareworks platform, performance and security controls receive updates, providing time-saving measures and streamlined plan servicing. A new Selling Shares experience empowers eligible US participants to directly transfer shares from their online accounts and specify the transfer as a personal transaction, gift, or charitable contribution.
For plan administrators, advanced performance and termination rules within the Shareworks rule engine, along with updates to the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) module, offer greater customisation options for resetting or editing ESPP enrollment activities.
Furthermore, core ad hoc data sources and files saw improvements, leading to more efficient daily operational processes such as cash reconciliation.
Morgan Stanley at Work chief product officer Mark Mitchell said: “Amid continued economic uncertainty, organisations across the world are faced with the daunting task of doing more with less.
“In these types of challenging operating environments, digital solutions become key to drive efficiency and connect with participants in meaningful ways.
“Our ongoing mission remains to unify our tools and capabilities into a single user account structure that will enrich the user experience and help both companies and their employees expand how they manage their financial lives.”
