Morgan Stanley Debuts Plan Smart 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) announced today the launch of the Plan Smart 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan (PEP), an institutional investment solution that enables multiple unrelated businesses to join a single professionally managed retirement plan, helping to lessen their administrative workload and fiduciary risks.

The Plan Smart 401(k) PEP is a qualified plan for which Morgan Stanley is serving as the ERISA 3(38) investment manager and Transamerica Fiduciary Services is serving as the pooled plan provider. Transamerica is supporting the offering through plan administration and recordkeeping services. Both firms are collaborating to offer a streamlined, robust retirement plan solution to both adopting employers and their plan participants.

Employers who join this PEP can offer their participants one of two investment lineup choices, which are thoughtfully curated by portfolio managers on Morgan Stanley's Outsourced Chief Investment Office (OCIO) team. In addition, employers in the Plan Smart 401(k) PEP may benefit from lower investment fees, given Morgan Stanley's economies of scale, as well as a comprehensive, high-quality educational program for plan participants at no extra cost.

"We understand the many challenges faced by companies that want to help their employees reach their retirement goals but may not have the necessary capacity to design, implement and oversee a defined contribution retirement plan," said Tom Conlon, Managing Director and Co-Head of Retirement at Morgan Stanley Institutional Consulting Solutions. "The Plan Smart 401(k) enables those businesses to join a collective plan and delegate some of their fiduciary and administrative responsibilities, while supporting better outcomes for their participants."

Pooled employer plans can meaningfully reduce complexity for employers while preserving strong retirement outcomes for participants," said Jason Frain, head of Retirement Solutions at Transamerica. "Thoughtful administration and a strong participant experience are essential to making that structure work at scale, and Transamerica is focused on delivering the operational consistency and support employers and participants rely on.

The Plan Smart 401(k) is now available to interested employers; please contact your Morgan Stanley representative for more information.

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 42 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit https://www.morganstanley.com.

About Transamerica

Transamerica believes everyone deserves the opportunity to live their best life. It's what inspires us to be a champion for helping everyday Americans thrive. As a leading provider of life insurance, retirement, and investment solutions for more than 10 million Americans, we help people make the most of what's important to them.

Supporting our customers' financial futures with innovative products and services has been our mission for more than 120 years. In 2024, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $62 billion in insurance, retirement, and annuity claims and benefits, including return of customer-paid annuity premiums.

Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Aegon is an international financial services holding company. For more information, visit https://www.transamerica.com.

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