Morgan Stanley Core Portfolios Overview
Morgan Stanley Core Portfolios is a professionally managed advisory program designed to provide investors with a streamlined, online platform to create and maintain a diversified investment portfolio. Here’s a detailed look at what the product does and its key features:
What it Does
Core Portfolios is managed by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, leveraging the firm’s extensive investment expertise and technology. The program allows investors to set up a managed, diversified portfolio online in a matter of minutes. After completing a short series of questions, known as the Investor Profile Questionnaire, investors receive a recommended model portfolio based on their investment goals, liquidity needs, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Key Features
- Minimum Investment: The program requires a minimum investment of $500 to get started.
- Fees: Core Portfolios comes with an annual fee of 0.30%. For a limited time, new accounts may be offered with no advisory wrap fee.
- Portfolio Customization: Investors can personalize their portfolios by selecting additional investment strategies, including socially responsible investing (SRI or ESG) or smart beta ETFs.
- Tax-Sensitive ETFs: For clients with taxable accounts, Core Portfolios offers tax-sensitive ETFs to help manage tax implications. Future enhancements include the addition of tax-loss harvesting to further optimize tax efficiency.
- Diversified Investments: Portfolios are composed of carefully curated ETFs selected by Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Office, ensuring a diversified and risk-managed approach.
- Automatic Rebalancing: The portfolios are monitored daily and automatically rebalanced to maintain the target asset allocation, typically when the portfolio drifts by 5% or when significant deposits or withdrawals are made.
- Recurring Deposits: Investors can set up recurring deposits to build their assets over time, with deposits being automatically invested into the Core Portfolios account.
- Flexible Funding and Withdrawals: Investors can deposit or withdraw cash from their accounts at any time, with strategic selling of investments to maintain the portfolio’s target allocation. However, this may result in taxable events and impact portfolio performance.
- Support and Resources: Clients have access to a dedicated Core Portfolios Support Team and can also discuss their portfolios with a team of financial professionals for more complex situations.
Additional Benefits
- Access to Expertise: Core Portfolios leverages the intellectual capital and market analysis of Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Office, ensuring that investment decisions are backed by robust market insights.
- Comprehensive Platform: The program is part of Morgan Stanley’s broader wealth management offerings, providing access to a wide range of investment products and services, including traditional and alternative investments, and insurance solutions.
In summary, Morgan Stanley Core Portfolios offers a user-friendly, professionally managed investment solution that combines the expertise of Morgan Stanley with the convenience of an online platform, making it an attractive option for investors seeking a diversified and managed portfolio.