Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley maintains a structured oversight framework for its political and lobbying activities, anchored by its Corporate Political Activities Policy Statement, which is "approved by the Governance and Sustainability Committee of the Morgan Stanley Board of Directors (the 'Board')" and "reviewed annually by ESRM, senior representatives of the business units, the GSO, and other relevant internal control functions." The Government Relations Department, "under the oversight of Morgan Stanley's Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, who is a member of Morgan Stanley's Operating Committee and reports to the Chief Executive Officer," manages the identification of legislative and regulatory priorities and both "dialogue with U.S. federal and state government officials" and "expenditures related to such participation." Indirect lobbying through trade associations is governed by an annual review process, as "principal U.S. trade association memberships as well as the expenditures relating to such memberships are reviewed annually with the Government Relations Department and the Governance and Sustainability Committee of the Board." While this demonstrates clear mechanisms for governing direct and indirect lobbying and named oversight bodies, we found no evidence of a dedicated process or any climate-specific review to ensure alignment of lobbying activities with Morgan Stanley's climate-related objectives, nor is there a named individual or committee tasked explicitly with climate lobbying oversight.