2027 Wealth Management Virtual Engagement Associate (VEA) Program | Chicago, IL

Wealth Management Virtual Engagement Associate (VEA) Program

This application is for candidates who are interested in roles with anticipated start dates throughout 2027.

Position Overview:

The VEA Program is designed to give you firsthand experience working with the top Financial Advisors (FAs) in the industry at a leading global financial institution.  In the VEA Program there are several different roles that are designed to support Financial Advisors in areas of business development, including the Client Engagement Associate, Financial Planning Associate, Workplace Engagement Associate, and Wealth Solutions Associate. Upon hire, you will be placed in one of these roles based on your experience, education, credentials, and business needs. The goal of the program is to give you a strong foundation in several systems/tools, business areas, and skills.

The VEA Program is structured as a two-year and three-month commitment (including the licensing and training period) and is designed to build a strong foundation across Wealth Management and client engagement. The length of the program enables you to earn your licenses, be trained in the role, gain additional professional designations, network, and capture valuable experience working with different FAs to understand how they run their practice. The insight you will gain is unique, and if successful, will propel you into a fruitful career at Morgan Stanley. Many successful associates continue their journey beyond the initial program period by gaining experience in new areas, broadening their expertise, and pursuing additional opportunities within the VEA organization.

The VEA Program operates in-person, across six office locations: Alpharetta, GA | Chicago, IL | Dallas, TX | New York Metro | Tempe, AZ. This is not a remote position.

The Experience You Could Gain:

The VEA Program includes a rigorous licensing period, followed by training and assessments designed to prepare you to succeed in the role. Through participation in the VEA Program, you could gain experience in:

• Partnering with Financial Advisors to understand their business goals and tailor client engagement strategies to support growth.
• Building and executing digital and targeted client outreach strategies, including social media/website content and segmented client communication campaigns.
• Developing structured communication cadences that increase meaningful client touchpoints and deepen relationships over time.
• Analyzing client relationships and engagement data to identify opportunities and deliver tactical recommendations to enhance the client experience.
• Supporting workplace engagement initiatives, including communicating the value of a financial advisor partnership to workplace participants.
• Applying financial planning tools and resources to gather client information, build/analyze plans, and communicate results and next steps clearly.
• Educating clients on Morgan Stanley wealth solutions and supporting end-to-end onboarding to drive adoption of relevant capabilities (e.g., cash management and self-directed solutions).
• Developing product and solutions fluency across advisory programs and select investment/insurance solutions, with exposure to complex implementation and client-facing reporting.
• Creating and presenting business insights (e.g., reports and readouts) for FAs and leadership, and sharing best practices to continuously improve strategy.

Benefits You Could Take Advantage Of:

• Competitive base salary, and a wide range of benefits including paid time off, savings programs, health care, insurance plans, student loan refinancing, fitness subsidy, and more
• Access to 401(k) offering with competitive Firm matching as well as access to the Morgan Stanley Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Obtain Series 7 and 63 licenses.
• Develop a robust understanding of the financial services industry through the lens of one of the world’s leading financial institutions
• Access an immersive learning experience that incorporates financial product education, platform navigation along with professional development

The Skills/Experience/Qualifications You’ll Need:

We seek motivated candidates from diverse academic backgrounds with a heightened interest in wealth management. Successful candidates have a unique blend of strong interpersonal communication skills, professional presence, numerical aptitude and comfort with data/metrics, organizational skills, analytic mindset, and great attention to detail.

Specific qualifications include:

• A bachelor’s degree with a proven track record of academic success. Prior professional experience would be an asset but not required
• Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam completed prior to interviewing for the program, Firm sponsorship of the Series 7 and 63 exams is provided and requires completion within the provided timeframe
• Strong written and verbal communication, client, and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability, with the ability to quickly learn and apply new technologies, processes and tools to meet evolving business needs.
• Experience in prompt engineering and a strong understanding of AI tools and technologies preferred, as well as hands-on experience in optimizing AI-driven solutions.
• Extraordinarily high level of motivation and commitment to working hard and staying organized in a competitive, fast-paced environment
• Ability to balance multiple priorities under pressure and time constraints
• To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and must not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status.
• Successful completion of background check and pre-employment assessments

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years.  Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices​ into your browser.

Salary range for the position: 65,000 and 85,000 per year. The successful candidate may be eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award. The successful candidate may be eligible to participate in the relevant business unit’s incentive compensation plan, which also may include a discretionary bonus component. Morgan Stanley offers a full spectrum of benefits, including Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Dependent Day Care Savings Account, Life Insurance, Disability and Other Insurance Plans, Paid Time Off (including Sick Leave consistent with state and local law, Parental Leave and X Vacation Days annually), 10 Paid Holidays, 401(k), and Short/Long Term Disability, in addition to other special perks reserved for our employees. Please visit mybenefits.morganstanley.com to learn more about our benefit offerings.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background.  Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.