Morgan Stanley Announces “The Equity Collective” a Diversity-Driven Collaboration Between 23 Wealth and Asset Management Firms

November 17, 2021 at 09:00 AM EST

The Equity Collective is dedicated to educating, empowering and developing the next generation of diverse leaders in the industry
Members have entered into a multi-year commitment
Includes exclusive sponsorships with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, HIVE Diversity and Team IMPACT

Morgan Stanley today announced the launch of The Equity Collective, an industry leading group of Wealth Management and Asset Management businesses who have come together to educate, empower and develop the next generation of diverse leaders in the finance industry. The Equity Collective is composed of 23 members. Senior leaders across each member organization have agreed to participate in education and awareness events and initiatives in this multi-year commitment. Spearheaded by Morgan Stanley, members include American Century Investments, BNY Mellon Investment Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Diffractive Managers Group, DWS, First Eagle Investment Management, Franklin Templeton, FS Investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Hartford Funds, Invesco, Janus Henderson Investors, John Hancock Investment Management, Macquarie Asset Management, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Natixis Investment Managers, New York Life Investments, Nuveen, PGIM Investments, PIMCO, Putnam Investments, T. Rowe Price and Virtus Investment Partners.

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Research conducted via Morgan Stanley’s Investor Pulse Poll¹ found that among diverse groups of high-net-worth investors and entrepreneurs, finance repeatedly took the top spot as the industry that could most impact racial inequality. “By banding together, we can be a force multiplier to impact our industry in a meaningful way,” says Andy Saperstein, Co-President of Morgan Stanley and Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “The Equity Collective is committed to investing early in under-represented communities, focusing our efforts on increasing the pool of interested and qualified people that consider a career in financial services.”

A study by Mercer² concluded that Black and Latino students’ interest in working in financial services crystallizes during high school, versus college years for white students. For that reason, The Equity Collective has established three key sponsorships to generate a spark of interest in finance in young people: Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Team IMPACT and HIVE Diversity.

With a focus on creating awareness and demystifying financial service career opportunities in order to break barriers while reaching future motivated leaders where they are, The Equity Collective will dedicate resources to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s CareerLaunch, a job-readiness and career launch program with the ability to reach 4.6 million youths ages 13 to 18 years old. The work with Team IMPACT will focus on supporting college athletes as they grow into empathetic leaders through community engagements. In working with virtual recruiting platform HIVE Diversity, members will engage with next generation talent representing an ever-evolving range of diverse backgrounds and experiences; HIVE focuses on internship and entry-level placement opportunities, as well as building earlier and more equitable pipelines through virtual programming to expose all candidates to careers that exist within the industry.

“We recognize our industry must do more to reach diverse talent. We are dedicated to increasing access for young talent and proactively raising awareness about the incredible opportunities in our field,” says Margaret Flynn-Martin, Head of Relationship Management, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Finding established organizations to do that with in order to move with intention and speed was one of our primary goals.”

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

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¹ Morgan Stanley Investor Pulse Poll, 2021

² Mercer “Bridging the Diversity Gap” June 2019