Morgan Stanley brings in ETrade executives

The investment bank is putting the finishing touches onto its $13 billion purchase of ETrade Financial, and has benefitted from ETrade’s direct, online access to a younger group of clients.

Morgan Stanley & Co. on Wednesday said it was adding a number of senior ETrade Financial Corp. executives as the firms continue their integration in the wake of last year’s acquisition of ETrade.

Morgan Stanley is putting the finishing touches onto its purchase. In April, the wirehouse said it was selling ETrade’s small but promising custody service, ETrade Advisor Services, for $55 million in cash.

The moves were outlined in an internal Morgan Stanley memo from Andy Saperstein, co-president.

“By joining forces with ETrade, we’ve established a dominant position in the Advisor, Workplace and Direct channels and we’re poised to continue leading and reshaping our industry,” Saperstein wrote. “Over the past year I’ve really enjoyed getting to know our new colleagues from ETrade. I’ve been deeply impressed by the talent in the organization.”

Chad Turner, ETrade’s CFO, will lead the digital direct business; Andrea Zaretsky, ETrade’s chief marketing officer, will be in the same position for wealth management. Another seven ETrade executives were also given Morgan Stanley spots.

Morgan Stanley said in February 2020 that it was buying ETrade Financial for $13 billion in stock. The investment bank has benefitted from ETrade’s direct, online access to a younger group of clients, but the financial advice industry was watching the merger closely.