Morgan Stanley announced the acquisition of EquityZen, a leading private shares platform, to strengthen its private markets ecosystem. The acquisition enhances services for private companies and shareholders, including cap table management, liquidity programs, direct and co-investment opportunities, and secondary trading. EquityZen’s issuer-aligned model supports deeper engagement with private companies, offering additional liquidity options for Morgan Stanley at Work participants and expanded access to private shares for Wealth clients.
“We are thrilled to welcome the entire EquityZen team to Morgan Stanley,” said Jed Finn, Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “This announcement comes at a critical time in the development of the private markets ecosystem. The combination of EquityZen with Morgan Stanley will uniquely address client needs as companies stay private longer, such as delivering liquidity solutions for their employees and early investors in a seamless yet controlled process of their own design. With EquityZen, we combine our cap table management solutions with a private shares marketplace to deliver end-to-end solutions to our private market company clients.”
The integrated platform places issuers at the center of decision-making, providing control over share trading. EquityZen streamlines operations for issuers and employees through direct integration with Morgan Stanley’s cap table solution.
“This deal helps us accelerate our already robust and growing private markets business,” said Michael Gaviser, Head of Private Markets at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “We are seeing rising interest in private markets exposure across our 20 million clients. EquityZen is the link that connects supply and demand through a seamless, technology-driven solution, broadening the toolset we provide Workplace clients, while expanding opportunities for Advisors and their clients.”
“We could not be more excited to join Morgan Stanley. This partnership isn’t about selling, it’s about scaling,” said Atish Davda, CEO of EquityZen. “Our entire mission has been to bring ‘private markets to the public,’ and by integrating into Morgan Stanley, we will reach more investors and shareholders than ever before. When our category-leading technology and welcoming marketplace is matched with Morgan Stanley’s comprehensive suite of products, services and offerings focused on the private markets, we can create a value proposition together for issuers, shareholders and investors that is unrivaled in our space.”
The transaction is expected to close in early 2026, pending regulatory approvals. EquityZen, headquartered in New York, has a team of approximately 50 professionals.