Private Banks

Morgan Stanley compensation formula draws executive suite stars

Morgan Stanley is ramping up its hiring spree in South East Asia and has secured some top drawer talent.

According to Vincent Chui, head of wealth management in Asia, the US-based banking giant reportedly has plans to hire 50 relationship managers in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Morgan Stanley made a big splash by landing the highly touted Pradinan Arkarachinores from her position as relationship manager at Julius Baer's Hong Kong office. Arkarachinores also served as executive director and team head for the Thai market at Julius Baer after joining the firm in 2016.

A source close to Morgan Stanley says one of the bank's main draws for relationship managers that handle UHNW clients is the brokerage bonus model. It offers a specific compensation formula based on revenue the RM has generated. The bottom line is that top relationship managers can end up with bonuses two to three times more than what's calculated under the usual discretionary model.