Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, stewarding trillions in client assets, is not just managing wealth — it is shaping the future of how financial services deliver value in a connected, intelligence-driven world. With that scale comes both an opportunity and a responsibility: to transform vast streams of data into meaningful insights that deepen client relationships across individuals, families, and institutions.

Against this backdrop, Atul Dalmia, Chief Analytics Officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, sits down with Rohit Choudhary, CEO of Acceldata, to explore what it truly means to bring the “One Firm” strategy to life. In this first installment of their three-part discussion, the focus moves beyond organizational alignment to show how connected data, enterprise intelligence, and a client-first philosophy are not only driving Morgan Stanley’s transformation but also setting new benchmarks for leadership in the age of AI and advanced analytics.

One voice, one experience

Dalmia begins by framing the vision: “We want to talk to our clients in one voice and for them not to feel like it’s three different businesses, but that it’s one firm trying to solve for client needs.”

This unified approach is not just theoretical; it plays out in tangible use cases. For instance, a company approaching Morgan Stanley for an IPO may initially interact with the Institutional Securities team.

But as Dalmia explains, the opportunities stretch beyond the IPO itself. “You have opportunities for wealth management for the executives. You have that company potentially having a stock plan program, which the wealth management team could help with.”

Similarly, existing wealth clients exploring M&A activity can be routed into institutional advisory, ensuring their evolving needs are supported within the Morgan Stanley ecosystem. “Our clients often want to manage all their needs in one place. It’s easier,” Dalmia adds.

In such scenarios, data analytics plays an essential role, he continues. It is about ensuring that the available data helps identify whether someone is already a client and uncovering the broader network of relationships within the firm.

Clients expect a seamless, informed conversation where the firm understands their full context. Establishing those connections between people, products, and opportunities across the organization is vital to realizing the “one firm” vision.

Stitching the data fabric: Connecting complex relationships

When asked about what kind of data connectivity powers this model, Dalmia emphasizes the diversity of Morgan Stanley’s clientele: “We have corporations, asset managers, asset owners, and individuals we work with.”

This diversity means dealing with disparate datasets. Stressing corporations, he says the BBV ID that is a part of different corporations evolves with acquisitions. Speaking of different ownership layers within the company, he says, “The ability to tie individuals that belong to a certain company, to individuals who have had a relationship with us, and remember, a lot of this data came together as each of the three units tried to build out the data infrastructure.”

The challenge, says Dalmia, is to efficiently tie it together. He, along with his team, faces the herculean task of harmonizing imperfect, often incomplete data into a consolidated view of both individuals and corporations, enabling firm-wide engagement strategies.

Rethinking integration: From migration to virtualization

Integration is often seen as synonymous with massive data migrations. Dalmia challenges this outdated assumption: “The concept of integration, before you had APIs, was always about bringing everything over.” That physical porting of data bore the highest cost, in addition to building everything on-prem.

Thanks to cloud-native platforms and API-based interoperability, integration has become lighter. “You effectively maintain the core data that sits within each of the businesses in their own platform, and you’re able to just connect a lighter version of it across.”

This evolution reduces infrastructure burden, accelerates deployment, and, most importantly, respects data privacy and compliance mandates. “What is obviously approved is a much faster and lighter version of what would have been done safely years back,” he says.

Predictive intelligence: Matching clients with the right advisors

Dalmia offers a compelling example of Morgan Stanley’s use of analytics to anticipate client needs and orchestrate engagement. He says a wealthy client, initially interacting for investment services, might also need a family office solution or advice on a firm’s IPO journey.

Analytics helps identify these needs proactively and match the client with the right resources: “We are also able to use intelligence to figure out who’s the right advisor and who is the right client from the bank to be able to speak to these individuals.”

Dalmia adds, “One of the things we take a lot of pride in is that we have products and solutions that would fit all your banking needs.”

KPIs that reflect unified success

When asked how the firm evaluates the return on its integration efforts, he points directly to client outcomes and measurable business growth. “One of our goals is to make sure that we grow new assets,” Dalmia explains. To that end, two key performance indicators (KPIs) stand out:

1. Volume of referrals from institutional securities: Dalmia highlights the importance of tracking how many potential wealth management clients are referred internally. “We track the number of referrals, and that’s a good KPI to measure — are we getting enough leads that we would ultimately want to be able to convert to advice?”
2. Net new assets attributed to these referrals: Beyond generating leads, the more telling metric is actual asset growth. “We measure both the net new assets that we generate as a result of these referrals.”

Furthermore, Dalmia reinforces that the ultimate measure of success isn’t just internal alignment; it’s the client’s experience. “Success only works if it works for the client,” he concludes.

CDO Magazine appreciates Atul Dalmia for sharing his insights with our global community.