Morgan Stanley today announced the launch of the Jewish Values Tool Kit designed to facilitate meaningful conversations about the wellspring of values shared among families, boards and the Financial Advisors and Institutional Consultants who serve them.
The Jewish Values Tool Kit, a collaboration between Morgan Stanley’s Investing with Impact and Philanthropy Management groups, is designed to enable Morgan Stanley’s Financial Advisors to guide their clients in creating investment and strategic grant making portfolios that are consistent with their long-term financial goals and reflect a personalized vision of aligning with their Jewish values.
“The Jewish community has a rich history of philanthropic giving, and that tradition continues today,” said Melanie Schnoll Begun, Managing Director and Head of Philanthropy Management. “Members of the Jewish faith in America donate nearly $9 billion annually to charity. On average, Jews give more generously to charity than members of other faith traditions.”
“There is an appetite for more guidance around investing with Jewish values while pursuing long-term financial objectives, and we are thrilled to offer these resources to our clients and advisors,” said Lisa Shalett, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Management.
Specifically, the Jewish Values Tool Kit includes a suite of tools and resources to inform and guide implementation decisions. “The resources explore the values that run deeply throughout the diverse, global community of Jews, and gives a history of Jewish faith-based philanthropy and investing. Further, we identify practical strategies for aligning investing dollars and philanthropic donations with Jewish values,” added Lily Trager, Executive Director and Director of Investing with Impact.
Investment strategies include restriction screening, environmental, social and governance integration, thematic exposure, impact investing and shareholder engagement. The Tool Kit also leverages Morgan Stanley’s proprietaryMission Align 360 process, which provides a roadmap for examining and coordinating all sources of capital so that they align with a customized mission, including human capital, philanthropic capital and financial capital.
To inform the creation of this Tool Kit, Morgan Stanley recently hosted a series of Jewish Values Consortiums in New York, Los Angeles and southern Florida. These events were attended by over 250 Jewish philanthropists and community leaders representing their families, foundations, Jewish federations and Jewish-intersectional non-profits. Rather than try to reach a consensus among all attendees, the goal was to have participants reflect – through conversations led by respected academic and author Rabbi Darren Levine, as well as the Investing with Impact and Philanthropy Management groups – on ways to consider establishing a set of Jewish Values that could inform giving and investing decisions. Just as everyone has a unique set of financial goals, working alongside a trusted Financial Advisor or Institutional Consultant, investors and philanthropists seeking to align their capital with Jewish values need to establish their own faith-based goals and priorities.
“Morgan Stanley is privileged to work with some of the most generous families in the world, guiding them toward philanthropy decisions that not only align with their faith, but also help them align with each other as family members,” Schnoll Begun said. “One hundred percent of our clients that we’ve surveyed at the Jewish Values Consortium events believe philanthropy and investing are ways to engage with family members across generations. This Jewish Values Tool Kit will be a critically important step in making that happen.”
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Investing with Impact Platform, launched in 2012, enables clients to align investment decisions and personal values without sacrificing potential financial performance. The broader Investing with Impact Platform now offers more than 120 investment products capable of delivering positive environmental and social impact.
Established in 1998, Morgan Stanley Philanthropy Management supports individuals, families, corporate and private foundations, and nonprofit organizations by offering a suite of advisory services, publishing thought leadership and hosting experiential opportunities to help clients define and realize their charitable goals.
To learn more about the Jewish Values Tool Kit,please contact your Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor.
Morgan Stanley’s Tool Kits seek to provide a set of resources for Financial Advisors and their clients to clarify the range of approaches to thematic investing as well as how to implement holistic investment solutions and strategic philanthropy.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a global leader, provides access to a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, cash management and lending products and services, annuities and insurance, retirement and trust services.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment 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 visitwww.morganstanley.com.
Disclosures
This material does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circ*mstances and objectives of persons who receive it. The strategies and/or investments discussed in this material may not be suitable for all investors. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor or Institutional Consultant. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circ*mstances and objectives. This material is not an offer to buy or sell any security or to participate in any trading strategy.
Investing in the market entails the risk of market volatility. The value of all types of investments may increase or decrease over varying time periods. The returns on a portfolio consisting primarily of Impact or Jewish Values investments may be lower or higher than a portfolio that is more diversified or where decisions are based solely on investment considerations. Because Impact and Jewish Values criteria exclude some investments, investors may not be able to take advantage of the same opportunities or market trends as investors that do not use such criteria.
Diversification and asset allocation do not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
©2019 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. Graystone Consulting is a business of Morgan Stanley. Investment products and services offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
CRC 2781204 10/2019
