Celestial Group at Morgan Stanley

Your successful business is a testament to your vision and dedication. Whether you're exploring new avenues for growth, or considering your exit, we understand the unique challenges and emotions that business owners face in pivotal moments. Working together, we're fully-prepared to help you plan for what comes next.

Put simply, our investment universe puts you at the center. Beyond traditional stocks and bonds, we also offer access to a wide range of Alternative Investments including Private Equity, Private Credit, Private Real Estate, Exchange Funds, and Collectibles. But at the end of the day, the portfolio we build for you will aim to reflect your individual goals, challenges, and needs -- in other words, your larger financial plan.

ABOUT THE CELESTIAL GROUP

Who is The Celestial Group — and who do you typically work with?

We're a Cincinnati-based wealth management team at Morgan Stanley that works with people whose financial lives have become more complicated as their success has grown. That often means executives managing equity compensation, business owners thinking about what comes next, families preparing to transfer wealth, and people approaching or living in retirement.

The common thread isn't a job title or a particular life stage. It's complexity. When investments, taxes, a business, retirement, estate considerations and family priorities begin to overlap, we help bring the pieces together.

What makes The Celestial Group different from other financial advisors?

Our team brings together experience that doesn't usually sit around the same table. John Gould has more than 26 years in financial services and deep experience in portfolio management, financial planning and alternative investments. Matt Harris spent 19 years on Wall Street working with institutional investors and large family offices before moving into wealth management. Two of our advisors are Certified Exit Planning Advisor^® professionals, and Brooke Robinson has worked on business sales from both sides — in investment banking and through the sale of her own family's second-generation business.

Just as important, we don't want clients simply following recommendations they don't understand. We want you to know what you own, why you own it and how the decisions fit into the life you're trying to build.

Is The Celestial Group part of Morgan Stanley?

Yes. We're a local Cincinnati team backed by Morgan Stanley, one of the world's leading financial institutions. You get a team here that knows you, your family and your financial life, with the research, technology, investment capabilities and global resources of a much larger firm behind us.

That scale can open up a much broader investment world. In addition to traditional stocks and bonds, eligible investors may have access to private equity, private credit, private real estate and select private-market opportunities. And when your needs extend beyond investing, we can draw on Morgan Stanley specialists and resources across areas such as business succession, equity compensation, lending, estate planning strategies and family wealth.

But having access to more isn't the same as needing more. Our job is to compare what Morgan Stanley has to offer, with what may actually make sense for you, and bring those resources into the conversation when they can make a difference.

How do I know if The Celestial Group is the right fit for me?

A good place to start is with the complexity you're trying to solve. Maybe retirement is getting close and several decisions suddenly need to happen at once. Maybe much of your wealth is tied to a company or concentrated stock position. Maybe you're considering selling a business. Or perhaps you're thinking less about accumulating wealth and more about what it should mean for your family.

Our first conversation is about that — not about fitting you into a preset solution. If we understand what matters to you, we can determine together whether our experience and approach fit what you need.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

What financial planning services does with The Celestial Group offer?
We start with your life, not a list of products. We want to understand your family, career, balance sheet, concerns, priorities and what you want your wealth to make possible.

From there, our process moves through four stages: Discover, Advise, Implement and Monitor. We evaluate different scenarios, build a plan around your goals, put the appropriate strategies in place and revisit the plan as markets, tax circumstances, family needs and life change.

A financial plan shouldn't be something you create once and put in a drawer. It should help you make decisions.

What kinds of decisions can you help bring together in one financial plan?

The decisions that matter most rarely happen in isolation. Retirement can affect taxes. A concentrated stock position can affect risk. A business sale can change an estate plan. A charitable gift can affect both a family's financial strategy and its legacy.

We help clients look across investments, retirement, lending, insurance, tax-aware strategies, estate and legacy considerations, charitable giving, education planning and other parts of their financial lives. When appropriate, we also coordinate with a client's attorney and CPA so everyone is working from the same picture.

When should I start planning for retirement?

Before retirement starts forcing decisions on you.

As retirement gets closer, questions that once seemed separate begin to collide: When should I stop working? Where will income come from? How should my portfolio change? What will taxes look like? Should I consider a Roth conversion? What do I want to leave to my family?

There isn't one "right" age to begin. But giving yourself time creates more room to model different paths before those decisions become deadlines.

Can The Celestial Group help executives with equity compensation and concentrated stock?

Yes. For many executives, compensation is also an investment problem: stock options, equity awards and concentrated positions can create overlapping decisions around taxes, diversification, risk, liquidity and retirement.

We help look at those holdings as part of the executive's entire financial picture rather than treating the company stock as a separate account. Through Morgan Stanley, the team can also draw on equity-compensation resources and specialized tools when appropriate.

BUSINESS OWNERS ENTREPRENEURS

I may sell my business someday. When should I start planning?

Ideally, before "someday" becomes a transaction.

A business exit is not just a sale price. It can involve succession, valuation, taxes, estate considerations, potential buyers, the owner's personal balance sheet — and a question many entrepreneurs don't spend enough time on: What does life look like after the business?

Starting earlier gives you more time to understand the choices available and prepare both sides of the equation: the business you may sell and the financial life you'll have afterward.

What makes The Celestial Group's experience with business owners distinctive?

There's practical experience behind the advice. John Gould and Matt Harris are both Certified Exit Planning Advisor^® professionals. Matt's Wall Street background includes institutional investing and public and private investment banking strategies. Brooke Robinson previously worked at a Cincinnati investment banking firm helping owners sell their companies — and she also participated in the sale of her own family's second-generation business to private equity.

That gives our team several ways to look at the same transition: as an owner, as an investor, as a family and as someone preparing for what comes after the deal.

How can you help before, during and after a business sale?

Before a sale, we can help an owner think through succession, valuation considerations, tax-aware planning, personal financial goals and how a potential transaction fits into a larger wealth plan.

During a transaction, we can focus on the owner's financial picture while drawing on Morgan Stanley's broader network of professionals when specialized MA, IPO or other transaction expertise is appropriate.

And after the sale, the question changes. The asset that may have represented decades of your life has become liquid wealth. We help you think through how that wealth should be invested, managed, transferred, used and — ultimately — enjoyed.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
How does The Celestial Group approach investing?

We don't believe the portfolio should exist in a vacuum. Before deciding what belongs in it, we want to know what the money is for, when you may need it, how much risk makes sense and what else is happening across your financial life.

The team combines John Gould's portfolio-management and alternative-investment experience with Matt Harris's institutional investing background. Morgan Stanley's research and investment resources add another layer. The objective is not simply to own investments. It's to build a portfolio with a job to do inside your larger plan.

Can I access investments beyond traditional stocks and bonds?

Yes, when it makes sense for the client. Through Morgan Stanley's alternative investment platform, eligible clients may have access to investments such as private equity, private credit, private real estate, exchange funds and certain collectibles.

The important question, though, isn't "Can I invest in alternatives?" It's "What role, if any, should they play in my portfolio?" We consider factors such as liquidity needs, risk tolerance, time horizon, objectives and the rest of your financial plan before determining whether an alternative investment may be appropriate.

What should I understand about alternative investments before considering them?

They can broaden the investment opportunity set, but they also come with tradeoffs that need to be understood. Depending on the investment, those can include illiquidity, higher fees and expenses, leverage, large minimums, lockups, complex tax structures and the possibility of substantial loss.

That's why we view alternatives as a planning decision, not a product category to add simply because it is available.

FAMILY WEALTH, LEGACY THE NEXT GENERATION

How should families think about wealth across generations?

Passing wealth to the next generation is the easy part to describe. Preparing the next generation for it is harder.

We help families connect the financial pieces — investments, estate and legacy considerations, charitable goals and business interests — with the human ones: values, communication, responsibility and what the family wants its wealth to accomplish.

That can mean working not only with the people who created the wealth, but also with the children and grandchildren who may one day inherit responsibility for it.

Do you work directly with clients' children and grandchildren?

Yes. We believe financial education shouldn't begin the day someone receives an inheritance.

The team engages next-generation family members through conversations, educational experiences and events designed to help them understand money, investing and the responsibilities that can come with family wealth. Brooke Robinson has a particular focus on deepening relationships with next-generation clients and helping families create continuity across generations.

Can you help with charitable giving and legacy planning?

Yes. For many families, the question eventually shifts from "How much have we accumulated?" to "What do we want this wealth to do?"

We can help incorporate charitable goals and legacy priorities into the broader financial plan and coordinate with outside legal and tax professionals as appropriate. The goal is to help make sure your investments, family intentions, charitable interests and estate considerations are moving in the same direction.

WORKING WITH THE TEAM

Will I work with one advisor or the whole Celestial Group?

You have a team.

Different people bring different strengths: portfolio management, financial planning, institutional investing, business exits, alternative investments, client service, research and next-generation relationships. That depth means a question doesn't always have to wait for one person to have the answer.

At the same time, the relationship should still feel personal. The point of a team structure isn't to make clients feel passed around. It's to give them more people who know their financial life and can help.

How involved will I be in financial decisions?

Very. We don't think good advice should feel like a black box.

Our job is to simplify complexity, explain the reasoning behind recommendations and help you understand what you own and why. Sometimes that means walking through a major decision. Sometimes it means answering a question that feels small. Both matter.

We want clients and their families to become more confident decision-makers over time — not more dependent on financial jargon.

How often will my plan and portfolio be reviewed?

There isn't much value in a financial plan that ignores what happens next.

We monitor plans and portfolios as markets and circumstances change, and we check in with clients to measure progress toward their goals. A new job, retirement, a business transaction, a change in the family or a shift in priorities can all be reasons to revisit the plan.

And you don't have to wait for a formal review meeting to call us. We make ourselves available for the questions that come up in between.