Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has signed a deal to buy $72bn institutional retirement consulting firm Cook Street Consulting.
The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is expected to close in March this year.
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Founded in 1999, Colorado-based Cook Street SEC-registered investment advisor offering retirement plan sponsors, foundations, corporate accounts, and endowments.
The firm is said to employ around 30 staff. It has 163 clients in the US and Canada with around 975,000 retirement plan participants and beneficiaries.
The addition of Cook Street is expected to further bolster Morgan Stanley’s institutional consulting business.
In August last year, the firm bought Portland-based retirement consulting practice Hyas Group, which managed $43bn in fee-based assets.
The firm also acquired fund manager Eaton Vance for $7bn last year.
In February 2020, Morgan Stanley snapped up E*TRADE Financial in a $13bn all-stock deal. In 2019, it agreed to buy Solium Capital’s stock plan business for $900m.
Other moves by Morgan Stanley
The investment bank reported strong results in the fourth quarter of 2021 boosted by robust performance in wealth and investment management units.
The bank’s net income in the quarter stood at $3.7bn, an increase of 9% compared with $3.4bn recorded in the same period a year ago.
Last month, the firm agreed to pay $60m to settle a lawsuit by customers who alleged that their personal data was exposed by the bank when it failed to properly wind down some of its earlier information technology.
In December, Morgan Stanley partnered with The Zone, an athletes-focused mental wellness platform, in a bid to encourage financial wellness amongst athletes.
