PENSCO to Replace Morgan Stanley as Alts Custodian
PENSCO Trust Company, an alternative asset IRA custodian and subsidiary of Opus Bank (NASDAQ: OPB), entered into an agreement to be appointed successor custodian for certain Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (NYSE: MS) clients’ self-directed individual retirement accounts, qualified plans, and other self-directed custodial accounts that are invested in alternative assets.
Per the agreement, Morgan Stanley and its approximately 16,000 registered investment advisors may begin referring new Morgan Stanley accounts to PENSCO. At the beginning of June 2016, approximately $1.2 billion of assets in roughly 8,000 existing Morgan Stanley client IRA accounts invested in alternative assets will be transferred in bulk to PENSCO.
“We are thrilled to have entered into this agreement with Morgan Stanley and look forward to becoming the trusted successor custodian for their clients who are invested in alternative assets, including private equity, real estate, notes and other non-traditional investments within their qualified self-directed individual retirement accounts,” said Kelly Rodriques, president and chief executive officer of PENSCO and executive vice president – wealth services of Opus.
PENSCO Trust Company helps investors use their retirement account funds to invest in real estate, private equity and other non-exchange traded assets. The company serves as the custodian of approximately $11 billion in assets on behalf of 43,000 clients, and works with financial institutions, Its parent company, Opus Bank, is an FDIC insured California-chartered commercial bank with $6.9 billion of total assets, $5.8 billion of total loans, and $5.2 billion in total deposits as of March 31, 2016.
