Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Reduces Fees on Private Shares Marketplace EquityZen, Broadening Private Markets Access

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management today announced that EquityZen, a leading private shares platform it acquired in January 2026, is immediately lowering transaction fees for both investors and shareholders on its marketplace. With Morgan Stanley’s expansive private markets ecosystem, EquityZen clients benefit from the scale gained from the acquisition.

“The strategic acquisition of EquityZen was about bringing a comprehensive end-to-end solution to our clients,” said Jed Finn, Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Bringing down fees allows more clients to transact and build wealth in a frictionless, holistic way. As the world’s biggest wealth manager, Morgan Stanley has strong demand for access to private shares and we have the supply through our cap table management capabilities and institutional relationships with issuers. With EquityZen’s marketplace technology, we can now build a differentiated value proposition for all participants anchored in the ‘issuer-first’ operating principle that is shared across Morgan Stanley and EquityZen.”

The lower fees take effect immediately with buy and sell side fees reduced to 2.5% down from 5% for most transactions—cutting in half current standard fees. The industry-lowest minimums of $5,000 will continue. This fee reduction extends to EquityZen’s innovative “Express Deals” where an investor who previously invested in certain EquityZen funds can sell their fund interest to another investor on the EquityZen platform.

“EquityZen has been a pioneer in the democratization of private markets, expanding access through its industry-leading technology platform,” said Atish Davda, Founder of EquityZen. “As we join forces with Morgan Stanley, we gain the full backing of a financial powerhouse—leveraging its scale and expertise to raise the bar for the industry and create a world-class experience for EquityZen clients and shareholders.”

Read the full press release here.