Graystone Consulting, a business of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), announced today that it was named by Coalition Greenwich, a leading global provider of strategic benchmarking, analytics, and insights to the financial services industry, as one of three consulting firms to receive the 2021 Greenwich Quality Leader* designation in Overall U.S. Investment Consulting among large consultants.

“It’s an honor to receive this award as it reflects what our clients actually say about us and recognizes our substantial growth with a move from the Mid-Size to Large Investment Consulting categories,” said Jeremy France, Head of Graystone Consulting. “Our goal is to deliver personalized service and solutions, and to do that successfully, we focus on listening to our clients and truly understanding their needs.”

Within the U.S. investment consulting business, Graystone posted year-over-year improvement in overall confidence to deliver on expectations, with top-quartile scores in Credibility with Investment Committee or Trustees and Sufficient Professional Resources to Meet Needs. Its overall score, which is the compilation of investment counseling and service factor scores, was one of the three highest among large consultants that received at least 10 evaluations in the Coalition Greenwich study.

This award was determined by research based on in-depth interviews with U.S. institutional investors Between July and October 2021, Coalition Greenwich interviewed 811 individuals from 661 of the largest tax-exempt funds in the United States, including corporate and union funds, public funds, and endowment and foundation funds, with either pension or investment pool assets greater than $150 million.

About Graystone Consulting

Graystone Consulting, a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, provides a complete range of investment consulting services to institutional clients, which include corporations, educational institutions, faith-based institutions, endowments and foundations, healthcare organizations, insurance entities, and Taft-Hartley funds. Tailored investment advice is delivered by experienced investment professionals, supported by a dedicated team and the broad resources of Morgan Stanley. To learn more, please visit www.morganstanley.com/graystone.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in 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.

About Coalition Greenwich

Coalition Greenwich, a division of CRISIL, an S&P Global Company, is a leading global provider of strategic benchmarking, analytics, and insights to the financial services industry.

*Source: Coalition Greenwich 2021 U.S. Institutional Investors Study (April 2022). The 2021 Coalition Greenwich Quality Leader in Overall U.S. Investment Consulting (Large Firms) designation was awarded to three firms and is based on the results of interviews conducted by Coalition Greenwich as described above. The award is the product of numerical scores in Coalition Greenwich’s proprietary studies that are generated from the study interviews. In addition to study interviews, the award is based on other criteria including assets under management and industry experience. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC nor Graystone Consulting pays a fee to Coalition Greenwich in exchange for the award; Graystone does not pay to have its clients participate in the study. The award is not indicative of participating firm’s nor their financial advisors’ past or future performance and may not be representative of any one client’s experience because the results represent an average of all experiences of responding clients only. Coalition Greenwich is a division of CRISIL. Morgan Stanley is not affiliated with Coalition Greenwich.

All rights reserved. ©2022 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. Graystone Consulting is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

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