Update: Big moment for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

The integration continues. The new firm previously had announced that it will take two years to truly integrate the best of both technology platforms. However, Securities Industry News reports that the major integration decisions will likely be finalized sooner. The firm expects to make an announcement in about two months.

All system aspects stand to be affected, from back-office clearing to front-office workstations. One area where the firm hopes to combine the best of both worlds: UMAs. It would like the best products from each to be offered, eventually on a common platform. Which doesn't seem possible at the moment. So a lot of stitch is going on. The real measure of success will be the approval by the brokers. Certainly, they're hoping for a seamless transition to a much improved common system.

For more:
- here's the article

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