Morgan Stanley tells ETF issuers to pay up or risk being blocked

Boston

MORGAN Stanley has a message for the exchange-traded fund world: Pay up. Or else.

The firm has told some fund issuers to pay a fee or risk having future offerings blocked from its sales network, people familiar with the matter said. The plan, which charges ETF firms for transaction data, drew initial resistance from some large fund providers, including BlackRock Inc, and the firm lowered fees in response, said the people, who declined to be named because the information is private.