Morgan Stanley uses Box to power new Digital Vault

Morgan Stanley has introduced a new wealth management digital collaboration portal called Digital Vault, powered by Box. The portal enables the investment bank’s clients to share encrypted documents with financial advisers.

“Box empowers our clients to collaborate with their financial advisers seamlessly while adhering to the highest standards of data privacy, protection and security,” said Sal Cucchiara, chief information officer for wealth management at Morgan Stanley. “Protecting our clients’ assets and personal information is our top concern, and this is our latest investment in safety and security at scale.”

Security at Morgan Stanley made front-page news in 2015 after the bank admitted that account information of up to 10% of its wealth management clients had been stolen by an employee, who has been sacked, intending to sell the details. The data, from about 900 of the bank’s clients, was briefly published online. The US Securities and Exchange Commission fined Morgan Stanley $1m for the data breach.

The Morgan Stanley Digital Vault provides an encrypted repository for clients to store and share important documents, such as wills, deeds, estate plans, financial statements and tax filings, with their financial advisers. The portal provides what Morgan Stanley describes as “an additional layer of encryption not offered through email”.

Powered by Box’s cloud content management capabilities, Digital Vault uses the Box Platform, Box KeySafe and Box Governance. Morgan Stanley said it is also using Box for content collaboration, creating a digital-first culture that enables employees to work more seamlessly and collaboratively with real-time access to information.

Clients upload documents via Morgan Stanley’s online and mobile app, and financial advisers and clients receive notifications when content is uploaded.

Box said Morgan Stanley’s use of its technology shows how the platform can be integrated into its product offerings to produce more value for clients.

Naureen Hassan, chief digital officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said: “Adopting new technologies to enhance and improve the way we deliver information to our clients and foster communication between adviser teams and clients is incredibly important for wealth management – especially in this increasingly digital world.

“By investing in a cloud content management platform like Box and leveraging other best-of-breed technology partners, we have been able to create a more secure, efficient and collaborative environment for conducting business.”