Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Celebrates First Anniversary of the Women Financial Advisors Forum

Jul 20, 2010

New York —

 

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is pleased to announce the one year anniversary of the Women Financial Advisors Forum (WFAF)   https://www.morganstanley.com/people/financial-advisors/diversity/, a blog for women interested in becoming Financial Advisors at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

The online site, which showcases the opportunities, challenges and advantages of a Financial Advisor career for women, averages about 5,000 visitors per month of which 79 percent are new and 21 percent are returning visitors.  Visitors to the WFAF represent 106 countries with the largest audience coming from the United States followed by the United Kingdom, India, Australia, France, Hong Kong, Canada and Asia-Pacific. 

"We are very pleased with the success of the Women Financial Advisors Forum," said Andy Saperstein, Head of Wealth Management in the U.S. for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.  "The feedback so far has been phenomenal.  The site offers another medium by which we can directly and succinctly communicate with prospective candidates as well as current financial advisors.  The Financial Advisors profiled on the site shares their individual journeys, which we hope can serve as an inspiration for others who aspire to a career in financial services, and specifically at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney."

The WFAF site is the first blog developed by an investment firm specifically for women interested in becoming Financial Advisors.  It contains information on the job requirements of a Financial Advisor, how to apply, career development as well as weekly profiles of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney professionals, articles written by guest bloggers such as the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) and iRelaunch, weekly polls and recommended events.

Since going live July 2009, the WFAF has had about 50,000 individual visitors and almost 180,000 page views.  Approximately 400 readers have responded to the weekly polling questions and today, the site ranks second on Google's search results for "women" "financial" and "advisors."

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a global leader in wealth management, provides a range of products and services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, credit and lending, cash management, annuities and insurance, retirement and trust services.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services.  The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,300 offices in 42 countries.  For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

©2010 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.  Member SIPC.

Media Relations Contact: Tricia Nestfield, 914.225.6369