Morgan Stanley announced today that it has closed on the issuance of a $500 million green bond, the Firm’s inaugural green bond and the latest step in the Firm’s ongoing strategy to advance market-based solutions to social and environmental challenges. Since 2006, the Firm has facilitated over $61 billion of capital for clean tech and renewable energy businesses.

Funds equal to the net proceeds of Morgan Stanley’s green bond will be allocated to various renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. A substantial amount of these funds will correspond with investments in existing and future third-party renewable energy projects, primarily wind farms, including Route 66 Wind, a 150 MW wind farm under construction in Texas, and Rattlesnake Wind Energy Center, a 207 MW wind power project also under construction in Texas.  

Ahead of this offering, Morgan Stanley created a green bond framework that is aligned with the Green Bond Principles. The framework describes the process through which projects are selected to receive funding, with the aim of ensuring that the Morgan Stanley green bond operates with high levels of transparency, disclosure and verification. Proceeds from the sale of the notes will be deposited into a segregated Morgan Stanley account for tracking disbursements. Morgan Stanley’s green bond has received a comprehensive review from an independent certification expert in renewables and energy efficiency, and an independent accountant will report with respect to stated disbursements. Project updates and impact-focused reporting for this issuance will be made available on a dedicated website.

“Our work as an underwriter of green bonds has already helped direct billions of dollars towards environmentally and socially responsible projects, and it is rewarding to now issue our own green bond supporting projects that generate positive environmental impact. Our green bond includes an independent review from a certification expert, impact-focused reporting and an independent accountant report,” said Celeste Mellet Brown, Global Treasurer.

Morgan Stanley has been a pioneer in green bonds, underwriting transactions globally for multilateral development banks, corporates, agencies and municipalities. Several of these transactions have included notable industry landmarks, including the first-ever corporate green bond, the first-ever automobile asset-backed securities green bond and the first-ever U.S. university green bond. Since 2013, Morgan Stanley has led 27 green bond transactions representing over $15 billion in aggregate principal amount. Morgan Stanley is also a founding signatory of the Green Bond Principles, which are voluntary guidelines for the development and issuance of green bonds, encouraging transparency, disclosure and integrity in the development of the green bond market.

Morgan Stanley’s green bond is part of the Firm’s broader commitment to sustainable finance. In 2013, Morgan Stanley established the Institute for Sustainable Investing to accelerate the mainstream adoption of sustainable investing by developing industry-leading insights and scalable finance solutions to address global challenges. In addition, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Investing with Impact Platform provides individual and institutional investors with a wide range of sustainable investing products. Through the Platform, Morgan Stanley financial advisors are able to identify opportunities that support specific social and environmental benefits without compromising financial performance potential.

“Morgan Stanley is committed to helping clients develop and pursue sustainable investing solutions, like green bonds, that can address social and environmental challenges at scale,” said Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing CEO Audrey Choi. “Through the Institute for Sustainable Investing and our Investing with Impact Platform, Morgan Stanley is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for quality sustainable investing products.”

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com. The Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing seeks to mobilize capital to address pressing global challenges and identify market-based, scalable solutions. For more information about the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, visit www.morganstanley.com/sustainableinvesting.

Please note that there is currently no standard definition of green bond. Without limiting any of the statements contained herein, Morgan Stanley makes no representation or warranty as to whether a bond constitutes a green bond, unless otherwise specified by Morgan Stanley, or whether a bond conforms to investor expectations or objectives for investing in green bonds. For information on characteristics of a specific green bond, use of proceeds, a description of applicable projects and/or any other relevant information about the bond, please reference the offering documents for the bond.

All material in this press release prepared by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and/or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Members SIPC (hereinafter "Morgan Stanley") has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. Unless otherwise stated, the material was not prepared by the Morgan Stanley Research Department and is not a Research Report as defined under FINRA regulations. The material does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who read it. Readers should determine, in consultation with their own investment, legal, tax, regulatory and accounting advisors, the economic risks and merits, as well as the legal, tax, regulatory and accounting characteristics and consequences, of any transaction or strategy referenced in any materials. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Morgan Stanley, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors do not provide tax, accounting or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving legal matters. The material may contain forward looking statements and there can be no guarantee that they will come to pass.

Information contained in the material is based on data from multiple sources and Morgan Stanley makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. References to third parties contained herein should not be considered a solicitation on behalf of or an endorsement of those entities by Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information contained on any third party web site or your use of or inability to use such site, nor do we guarantee its accuracy or completeness. The terms, conditions, and privacy policy of any third party web site may be different from those applicable to your use of any Morgan Stanley web site. The opinions expressed by the author of an article written by a third party are solely his/her own and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. Professional designations mentioned in the articles may or may not be approved for use at Morgan Stanley. The information and data provided by any third party web site or publication is as of the date of the article when it was written and is subject to change without notice.

© 2015 Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm and a market leader in investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. With more than 1,200 offices in 42 countries, the people of Morgan Stanley are dedicated to providing our clients the finest thinking, products and services to help them achieve even the most challenging goals. Through its Global Sustainable Finance Group, Morgan Stanley seeks to support community development initiatives with debt, equity, and philanthropy.

More from Morgan Stanley