MORGAN Stanley plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to manage rich people’s portfolios in Australia as the Wall Street bank rollouts more software in the country that’s used in other parts of the world.
“Other regions are a little bit more established, it’s a real opportunity for us to bring some of the leading ideas we have and we have learned from overseas markets to Australia,” Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management for Australia Rebecca Hill said on Wednesday (Jun 12).
The decision comes as the value of high-net-worth individuals in Australia rose about 8 per cent last year and now exceeds US$1 trillion for the first time, according to a Capgemini report last week. In March, Morgan Stanley appointed its first global head of AI as banks around the world seek to capitalise on potential cost savings.
“On the whole Australia is a more maturing market, we are starting to become more sophisticated as investors, but it’s still very early days,” Hill said, speaking on the sidelines of the Morgan Stanley Australia Summit.
As a result of such initiatives and overall growth in assets under management in line with a strong local economy, the firm has plans to add more headcount, Hill said. She did not specify how many staff the wealth business might add.
Morgan Stanley is already the largest global wealth management provider in Australia, with more than A$41 billion (S$37 billion) in client assets. The firm has more than 100 financial advisers in five branches across the country working with high-net-worth individuals, family offices and not-for-profits.
Morgan Stanley chief executive officer Ted Pick said on Monday that AI could help its financial advisers save up to 15 hours a week, Reuters reported. The bank has been beefing up its wealth operations in Asia-Pacific for years, after integrating the business with the firm’s institutional securities group.
Globally, the wealth business has been a star performer and cemented its increased importance by posting better-than-expected revenue in the first quarter. The unit is just months into new leadership after Jed Finn was appointed to run the US$4.8 trillion business in November. BLOOMBERG
