Wealth Management Branch Examiner

474 MS Services Group, Inc.; Texas; Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental and Vision

Paid Time Off

401(k)

Job summary

Morgan Stanley is seeking a Branch Examiner in WM Compliance to oversee risk-based branch examinations across retail locations. This director-level role partners with Compliance to strengthen supervisory practices and safeguard regulatory integrity for the firm.

The candidate will perform testing, interviews, and evaluation of controls, while coordinating corrective actions with branch staff. Domestic travel of 30–40% is required and FINRA licenses are a plus.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of the Financial Services Industry.
• Team-oriented with the ability to interact with diverse remote teams, staff and management.
• Strong communication, detail orientation, analytical and organizational skills.
• Objectivity with independent decision-making in Compliance testing procedures.
• Domestic travel approximately 30 to 40% required.
• 3+ years Financial Services Industry experience.
• FINRA licenses a plus.

Responsibilities

• Perform pre-exam testing by analyzing risk assessments and sampling per procedures.
• Conduct onsite inspections, review reports, and interview staff and management.
• Evaluate testing results and assess the control environment's effectiveness.
• Lead meetings with branch management to discuss findings and responses.
• Develop corrective action plans with management and key personnel.
• Assess regulatory compliance and firm policies across branches.
• Oversee multiple examinations and projects concurrently.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry and regulatory changes.

Skills

Risk-based testing

Regulatory knowledge

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Travel readiness

Job description

We’re seeking someone to join our team as a Branch Examiner in WM Compliance to perform independent oversight and execution of risk-based branch examinations across retail locations, serving as a key partner in strengthening supervisory practices and safeguarding the Firms regulatory integrity. In the Legal & Compliance division, we assist the Firm in achieving its business objectives by facilitating and overseeing the Firm’s management of legal, regulatory and franchise risk. This is a director level position within the Branch Examinations Team, which is responsible for performing risk-based inspections of retail branch offices, including evaluating books and records, testing for sales practice compliance, money movement, and assessing the effectiveness of supervisory processes and procedures. Since 1935, Morgan Stanley is known as a global leader in financial services, always evolving and innovating to better serve our clients and our communities in more than 40 countries around the world.

The Role:

• Perform pre-exam testing by analyzing risk assessments, establishing sample selection criteria, testing selected samples per departmental procedures and reviewing relevant documentation.
• Conduct onsite branch inspections, review electronic and physical reports and documents, and interview financial advisors, support staff and branch management.
• Leverage your expertise and judgment to evaluate testing results and assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the branches control environment.
• Hold meetings with branch management to discuss preliminary findings, identify root causes of noted issues, and obtain formal responses to exam results.
• Collaborate with local management and key personnel to address identified business risks and policy violations and develop comprehensive corrective action plans to facilitate the timely remediation of identified issues.
• Collaborate with branch examination management to assess whether a branch office complies with regulatory requirements and Firm policies and procedures.
• Oversee multiple examinations and projects concurrently.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry and regulatory changes.

Qualifications: What you’ll bring to the role:

• Knowledge of the Financial Services Industry
• Prior examination or testing experience a plus
• Team-oriented with the ability to interact with diverse remote teams, branch staff and management
• Strong communication, detail oriented, analytical, critical thinking and organizational skills
• Objectivity with the skill to make independent decisions associated with Compliance testing procedures
• Enthusiastic, disciplined and self-motivated
• Ethical standards, sound judgment and integrity
• Domestic travel approximately 30 to 40% required
• 3+ years Financial Services Industry Experience
• FINRA licenses a plus

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients – helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that’s differentiated – and we’ve done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren’t just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you’ll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There’s also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work. To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices into your browser.

Salary range for the position:

$70,000 and $125,000 per year. The successful candidate may be eligible for an annual discretionary incentive compensation award. The successful candidate may be eligible to participate in the relevant business unit’s incentive compensation plan, which also may include a discretionary bonus component.

Morgan Stanley offers a full spectrum of benefits, including Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Dependent Day Care Savings Account, Life Insurance, Disability and Other Insurance Plans, Paid Time Off (including Sick Leave consistent with state and local law, Parental Leave and 20 Vacation Days annually), 10 Paid Holidays, 401(k), and Short/Long Term Disability, in addition to other special perks reserved for our employees. Please visit mybenefits.morganstanley.com to learn more about our benefit offerings.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents. Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences. For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.

At Morgan Stanley, we advise, originate, trade, manage and distribute capital for people, governments and institutions, always with a standard of excellence and guided by our core values. Morgan Stanley is dedicated to providing first‑class service to our clients, in a way that reflects our commitment to creating a more sustainable future and fostering stronger communities around the world. In each line of business, we strive to demonstrate our belief in the power of transformative thinking, innovative strategies and leading‑edge solutions—and in the ability of capital to work for the benefit of all society.