About Us

Jeff has been focusing on financial management for over 25 years. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley he held various financial positions at a Fortune 500 healthcare company and physician practice management firms. While at these organizations he gained valuable insight across many areas of financial management including planning, forecasting, accounting, and business development. In 2001 he joined Morgan Stanley where today his unique background in both business and personal financial management enables him to develop customized investment strategies and advise high-net-worth clients from a unique perspective in wealth management.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Illinois, a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University, passed the Illinois Certified Public Accountants exam (non-practicing), and earned the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.
Services Include
Securities Agent: AL, UT, IL, IA, AK, VA, OH, GA, FL, CO, AZ, TN, SC, MN, MA, WI, WA, NV, MD, CA, PA, MT, MO, IN, OR, NY, KS, TX, NC, MI, KY, DC; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 1272773
Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*

Guiding the path to financial success

Our goals-based approach focuses on you and your family – where you are today and where you want to go. Working together, we help develop the strategies to get you there while navigating life's challenges and helping you make more informed and confident decisions about your wealth.
    1: Introduction
    Our goal is to make your situation better, while never getting in the way of relationships you have cultivated with professionals you trust. In our initial conversation, we listen carefully to understand your current financial concerns. To determine how we can add value, we schedule a face-to-face meeting and request important financial information.
    2: Discovery
    We continue our initial dialogue, learning about the values that shape your decisions and identifying any circumstances unique to your situation. We review the documents you prepared and prioritize the goals you want to achieve. We collect all this information so we can analyze it and determine if we are the best fit for your situation.
    3: Analysis
    In this step, we study your situation to recommend the best possible long-term strategy for you and your family. We may determine another team is better aligned with your particular goals and will offer to make an introduction. Or we may determine we have the skills, knowledge, and experience to serve your unique needs. Either way, we are confident we can help you and will communicate with you promptly.
    4: Plan Development
    If we agree to move forward, we build upon our initial analysis, utilizing sophisticated planning and risk analysis tools to identify appropriate strategies. We also run various "what if" scenarios, stress-testing each recommendation so we can formalize a comprehensive wealth management plan that aims to align your goals and priorities with your timeframes and risk parameters.
    5: Presentation & Implementation
    Here, we present your personalized plan in detail with the goal of answering three critical questions:

    1) What you should do.
    2) Why you should do it.
    3) What it will cost to do it with us.

    Based on our discussion, we will refine your plan and begin to implement the strategies presented. We believe in full transparency and will keep you involved each step of the way.
    6: First-Class Service
    Committed to a concierge experience, we focus on developing longstanding relationships that can provide value to you and your family. We deliver first-class service through our commitment that emphasizes ongoing communication through monthly conversations and social gatherings throughout the year.

Digital Resources

Morgan Stanley offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage and protect your wealth more effectively in today's busy world. We strive to ensure we serve you with market-leading technology platforms that are resilient, safe, efficient, smart, fast and flexible.
    Morgan Stanley Online
    Morgan Stanley Online allows you to seamlessly and securely manage your investments and everyday finances in one place.
    Register for Morgan Stanley Online Today
    Digital Vault
    Digital Vault lets you easily and securely manage and share important documents such as account statements, authorizations, tax filings and other relevant documents with your Financial Advisor
    Get Started Today
    eDelivery
    Sign up for eDelivery today and start receiving email notifications as soon as your account documents are available on Morgan Stanley Online or the Morgan Stanley Mobile App. It's quick, convenient & secure.
    Enroll Today
    Total Tax 365
    Taxes can be a substantial drag on investment returns. Morgan Stanley Total Tax 365 offers access to a broad range of tax-efficient strategies to help you integrate tax planning into your investment process all year long, maximize portfolio after-tax return potential and help keep more of what you earn.
    Learn More
    Portfolio Risk Platform
    Our Portfolio Risk Platform, backed by institutional-caliber analytics, assesses thousands of risk factors using a holdings-based approach to assess a portfolio's exposures, analyze how securities behave together across portfolios and forecast how they influence risk and return moving forward.
    Portfolio Risk Platform
    Security Center
    Learn about our latest security measures, how we are safeguarding your assets and personal information and find actionable insights and resources on important cybersecurity topics to enhance you own online security.
    Visit our Security Center
The Morgan Stanley Wealth Management process begins with you, your investment objectives and your financial goals. Holistic in its approach, it may encompass all the elements of your financial life - your investments and your cash management needs - making sure they align with your goals and wealth management plan.

The sophisticated suite of tools and the extensive list of resources that Morgan Stanley offers, allows us to implement the Morgan Stanley wealth management process and translate your goals into reality.

Whatever your financial goal - whether to grow your wealth, preserve it or pass it on to others, you can count on us to help you with a strategy that is:
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    1) Personal:
    Highly individualized and committed to helping you achieve financial success.
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    2) Flexible:
    Responsive to changes in your life and in your priorities over time.
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    3) Comprehensive:
    Covering a broad array of investment products and services, with preferred benefits tied to your valued status with us.
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    Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®)
    Jeff is a CFP® professional who has met extensive training and experience requirements, and commits to CFP Board's ethical standards. CFP® professionals are able to act in their clients' best interest, using in-depth knowledge of issues such as the financial planning process, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning.

Location

233 S Wacker Dr
Ste 8600
Chicago, IL 60606
US
Direct:
(312) 917-7482(312) 917-7482
Toll-Free:
(800) 334-2446(800) 334-2446
Fax:
(312) 648-3344(312) 648-3344
Wealth Management
From My Desk

Municipal Bond Tax Exemption

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Wealth Management
Global Investment Office

Portfolio Insights

Read More about On the Markets
Read "On the Markets"

Retirement

Working with you to understand your life goals and develop a personalized wealth strategy. Today and for the years to come.
  • 401(k) Rollovers
  • IRA Plans
  • Retirement income strategies
  • Retirement plan participants
  • Annuities
Learn More about Retirement
A Simple Six-Step Retirement Checkup
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A Simple Six-Step Retirement Checkup

Checking in on your retirement plan may make a lot of sense, especially when market volatility arises.

Investing

Working closely with you to guide your wealth and investments through the most challenging market cycles.
  • Asset Management
  • Wealth Planning
  • Traditional Investments
  • Alternative Investments
  • Impact Investing
Learn More about Investing
Iran Conflict: Seven Takeaways for Investors
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Iran Conflict: Seven Takeaways for Investors

Prolonged conflict with Iran could lead to higher oil prices, hotter inflation and greater market uncertainty.

Family

Creating customized financial strategies for the challenges that today’s families face.
  • Estate Planning Strategies
  • 529 Plans / Education Savings Planning
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Special Needs Planning
  • Trust Services
Learn More about Family
529 Plans: A Powerful Tool to Save for Education
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529 Plans: A Powerful Tool to Save for Education

Though education costs continue to climb, starting to save and invest early can make a difference.

Business Planning

Helping you on key aspects of your business such as ownership, liquidity and developing opportunities.
  • Succession Planning
  • Business Planning
  • Qualified Retirement Plans
Learn More about Business Planning
Financial Planning for Life After Selling a Business
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Financial Planning for Life After Selling a Business

Selling your business can mean big changes for your life, both personally and financially. Know how to make the most of your windfall.

Philanthropy

Making sure your philanthropic dollars are managed with the same high quality service as the rest of your wealth.
  • Endowments
  • Foundations
  • Donor Advised Funds
  • Impact Investing
Learn More about Philanthropy
Donor Advised Funds: A Smart Way to Manage Your Giving
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Donor Advised Funds: A Smart Way to Manage Your Giving

There's more to charitable giving than you may realize. Here's one method that may be a tax-efficient way to give and can help maximize your impact.
Ready to start a conversation? Contact Jeffrey Y Terao today.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

1Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.

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2Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.

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3When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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4Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is a registered Broker/Dealer, Member SIPC, and not a bank. Where appropriate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has entered into arrangements with banks and other third parties to assist in offering certain banking related products and services.

Investment, insurance and annuity products offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC are: NOT FDIC INSURED | MAY LOSE VALUE | NOT BANK GUARANTEED | NOT A BANK DEPOSIT | NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

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5Insurance products are offered in conjunction with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s licensed insurance agency affiliates.

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Check the background of our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck*.

The information, products and services described here are intended only for individuals residing in states where this Financial Advisor is properly registered as described in this site.

Morgan Stanley reserves the right, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to retain and monitor all electronic communications. Morgan Stanley will not accept purchase or sale orders via any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. Morgan Stanley does not endorse and is not responsible and assumes no liability for content, products or services posted by third-parties on any Internet site, social media site and/or its messaging systems. All electronic communications are subject to terms available at the following link:
https://www.morganstanley.com/disclaimers/mswm-email.html. Any profiles and associated content are for U.S. residents only.

The securities/instruments, services, investments and investment strategies discussed in this material may not be appropriate for all investors. The appropriateness of a particular investment, investment strategy or service will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments, strategies and services, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor or Private Wealth Advisor. This material does not provide individually tailored investment advice. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement with/of the third party or that any monitoring is being done by Morgan Stanley of any information contained within the website. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information contained on the third-party website or the use of or inability to use such site. Nor do we guarantee their accuracy or completeness.

The views, opinions or advice contained within third party websites or materials are solely those of the author, who is not a Morgan Stanley employee, and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, or its affiliates. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor's individual circumstances and objectives.

*References to length of service at Morgan Stanley include years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

The use of the CDFA designation does not permit the rendering of legal advice by Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors which may only be done by a licensed attorney. The CDFA designation is not intended to imply that either Morgan Stanley or its Financial Advisors are acting as experts in this field.

Awards Disclosures | Morgan Stanley
CRC 4665150 (8/2025)