Global Intelligence

00:00:05

Justin Pon

It's a pleasure to be here with you today. My name is Justin Pon and I've been with Morgan Stanley for four years and I lead solutions for our Global Intelligence and Taxability services. And I'm proud to be part of this dynamic team. Joining us is my colleague James Hocking.

00:00:19

James Hocking

Hello, I'm James Hocking and I serve as the Executive Director of US Public Sales Administration at Morgan Stanley at Work. I'm thrilled to be here to speak with you about my passion for equity compensation and how it can transform businesses. With over 17 years of experience at Morgan Stanley and in the equity compensation industry, I've had the privilege of working with many talented individuals and companies around the globe. My mission has always been to empower companies to offer equity to their employees by connecting them with technologies that enhance automation and potentially reduce risk with their equity compensation plans.

00:00:52

Justin Pon

Today, we are discussing the current challenges companies who offer equity around the globe are facing. We have a workforce that is more mobile than ever, a constantly evolving tax and regulatory landscape and participants that want to better understand the equity awards they are receiving. These pieces combined can make offering equity complex and time consuming going to dive into some of these challenges and discuss how Morgan Stanley at Work's Global Intelligence platform may help you navigate this complex landscape.

00:01:16

James Hocking

Over the past few years, there's been a significant increase in the demand for issuing equity broadly across organizations and to employees around the world. As equity compensation continues to gain traction as a tool for retention and talent attraction. Corporations are looking to scale their equity plans beyond the US and into multiple jurisdictions. Let's talk about what this challenge presents to plan administrators.

00:01:37

Justin Pon

Well, the regulatory landscape is constantly evolving, making it challenging for companies to match compliance requirements. In addition, companies now have a more mobile employee workforce, which adds another layer of complexity.

00:01:48

James Hocking

What are some of the complex problems that you see from your Global Intelligence clients?

00:01:54

Justin Pon

Right. So, there's a few problems that we have that we note that our clients are trying to solve for things such as being able to communicate text pieces to their participant populations. So, for instance, a lot of our clients say, hey, Justin, we have a client that has a lot of participant questions. Being able to have a resource that both the administrator can refer to and being able to provide to their participants so that the participants can engage and understand the plan just helps relieve some of that burden and, helps participants feel more engaged with their equity plan.

00:02:24

James Hocking

So, with our record-keeping solutions, we know that we're pulling in data from all different geographies, different countries, different time zones. How does having that data in one place help global intelligence assist clients?

00:02:36

Justin Pon

Well, when you have all that different location data, all the different demographics and different award information, the record keeper, whether or not it's a participant staying in one jurisdiction or when they're moving between different states or different countries. That comes with a whole suite of different tax obligations, which we quickly refer to as tax mobility.

00:02:54

James Hocking

So Justin, when you have a new client, what’s the discussion that you have with that client to help them along the way with Global Intelligence?

00:03:02

Justin Pon

Right. So, it's aspects of understanding all the different parts of the Global Equity plan. Right? So, what types of rewards are they offering? Like an ESPP, RSU on qualified stock option? Are there any tax preferred varieties of the award, like for instance, we’re all familiar with the US ISO. But are there any tax preferred variety that they may or may not have internationally. Or are they trying to contemplate mirroring that type of tax preferred treatment in those jurisdictions? We also want to understand what kind of resources they have at their disposal as well. Like, do they have a large team that's able to manage this? Is it just a one-person shop? How many people can they involve in the process and what are those internal stakeholders that can be involved in that Global Equity crowd so that they're having successful compliance, due diligence, exercise.

00:03:47

James Hocking

And when combined with our equity platforms, companies can monitor and manage the taxes on their equity plans in real time, even as employees move from one location to another.

00:03:56

Justin Pon

Helping clients navigate between jurisdictions is key to ensuring consistency in offering and driving employee participation in equity plans. We also provide our clients with a dedicated team who are available to connect you with local law firms. Embedded directly within our Equity Solutions platform. Global intelligence seamlessly plugs into your data, provide you with live tax mobility calculations, keeping everything at your fingertips and in platform. Thanks for joining us today. It was great to chat with you about the challenges of a constantly evolving tax and legal landscape and how a more mobile employee workforce can be daunting.

00:04:26

James Hocking

Thanks, Justin. At Morgan Stanley at work, we have the solutions to help companies stay current and manage our equity plans more effectively. Our Global Intelligence platform and dedicated team provides companies with some of the tools and resources they may need to navigate these complex landscapes. Thank you for joining us today.

Morgan Stanley at Work and Global Intelligence services are provided by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, member SIPC, and its affiliates, all wholly owned subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and its affiliates, employees and Financial Advisors do not provide legal or tax advice. Individuals should consult with their tax/legal advisors before making any tax/legal-related investment decisions. The information is sourced from third parties, may not be current and is subject to change without notice. Morgan Stanley at Work makes no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information and is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement with/of any third parties or views expressed by such parties. Any views expressed in the information are solely those of the third-party source. Morgan Stanley at Work shall have no liability arising out of, or in connection with, the information, including any loss caused by use of, or reliance on, the information. All information made available by Morgan Stanley at Work is subject to the terms of the written agreement entered into between Morgan Stanley at Work and your company.

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